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Quote by Torbjorn Tannsjo

“I am indeed a hedonistic utilitarian. I have defended hedonistic utilitarianism for quite a while.”

Quote by Torbjorn Tannsjo

Author

Torbjorn Tannsjo

Torbjorn Tannsjo, born in 1946, is an individual whose profession and category are unknown. more

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“It is true that it feels very differently to enjoy a good meal, taking part in an interesting conversation, or to think of how successful your children are. Suppose we do all these things at a particular time. How happy are we at the time? We do not need to calculate the value of each such feelings on any singular scale to answer this question. We need not see our happiness at the time as a mathematical function of these items. It is rather that all these experiences, together with many other factors, causally puts us at the time at a certain level of happiness, i.e. in a certain mood.”

“One way of submitting your moral intuitions in relation to some issue to cognitive therapy is to learn more about how people in other cultures think about it.”

People Thinking Way Culture Moral Issues Relation Intuition One Way Therapy Cognitive Other Cultures Cognitive Therapy

Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo

“I have been brought up in a culture where capital punishment is indeed anathema. I have always thought of myself as a principled opponent to capital punishment. However, when thinking about how the topic is handled in other cultures, in particular the American, Russian and Chinese ones, I have realised that my own tack on the issue was utterly superficial.”

Thinking Has Beens Culture My Own Issues Particular Punishment Chinese Opponents Superficial Topics Realised Capital Punishment Other Cultures Principled Anathema

Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo

“I have now come to the conclusion (roughly) that capital punishment is defensible, if it can be shown to have a deterrent effect on murder. In that case, a few executions save not only some people from being murdered but also some people from becoming murders.”

People Ifs Cases Effects Becoming Murder Punishment Conclusion Execution Capital Punishment Deterrent

Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo

“It is hard to tell if capital punishment has such an effect. And even if, in some contexts it has (such as in the American South with a very high incidence of murder), this effect may very well go away if a decent welfare state was replaced for the existing social order.”

Ifs Wells May Hard States Order Social Effects Murder South Punishment Welfare Decent Going Away Replaced Welfare State Social Order Capital Punishment Incidence

Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo

“Even philosophers will praise war as ennobling mankind, forgetting the Greek who said: 'War is bad in that it begets more evil than it kills.'”

Said War Evil Peace Forget Mankind Praise Philosopher Greek Anti War Antiwar Begets

Book:Inevitable peace

Source: Inevitable peace

“I want to think that there are better ways of obviating murder than to resort to capital punishment, but I realise that this may be wishful thinking on my part.”

Thinking Way Want May Murder Punishment Realising Resorts Better Ways Wishful Thinking Capital Punishment

Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo

“There comes a time where next to everyone will resort to techniques that enhance cognitive, mental including emotive, physical, and other capacities. When this has happened, if not before, the ban on doping in sport will have been lifted.”

Ifs Has Beens Next Sports Happened Capacity Including Technique Resorts Bans Cognitive There Comes A Time Doping

Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo

“The possibility to go on indefinitely with our lives may become a reality and it will present us with a temptation.”

May Reality Our Lives Possibility Goes On Temptation

Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo

“My conjecture is that most people will refuse to let go, even when their lives have become boring (at least in comparisons with possible lives lived by new generations). If this happens, there will eventually be no room for new generations. A kind of collective irrationality will lead to a bleak life for the last generation that decides to stay around. Unless we put and end to the human race (through global warming, for example), before this happens, individual egoism will block the path to a better world.”