Philosophy Now Forum

Utilitarianism and Altruism
Nobody does anything because they are Utilitarian. They use the Utilitarian method because they are Altruists. And they are Altruists largely because they have Empathy. The reason how, rather than why, empathy exists is not evident. The term 'God' does not advance the case, unless empathy is a faculty with others that can be named under that corporate title. Which is interesting but not an explanation of existence.

RWStanding wrote:Utilitarianism and Altruism
Nobody does anything because they are Utilitarian. They use the Utilitarian method because they are Altruists. And they are Altruists largely because they have Empathy. The reason how, rather than why, empathy exists is not evident. The term 'God' does not advance the case, unless empathy is a faculty with others that can be named under that corporate title. Which is interesting but not an explanation of existence.

God placed a soul in your physical body so you could feel a vast array of emotions while learning to live peacefully, cooperatively with other souls here.

An altruist would never bother with trying to justify his position by relying on a utilitarian calculation. The two viewpoints are not the same.

WendyDarling wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2017 2:10 am God placed a soul in your physical body so you could feel a vast array of emotions while learning to live peacefully, cooperatively with other souls here.

Really? When is the peaceful co-operation scheduled to start?

RWStanding wrote: ↑Sun Jan 22, 2017 2:58 pm Utilitarianism and Altruism
Nobody does anything because they are Utilitarian. They use the Utilitarian method because they are Altruists.

That may be so, but why would an altruist require any particular methodology? Wouldn't they just act on their impulses?
I do see that altruistic actions are likely to generate reciprocal benefits and thus result in an outcome any utilitarian might approve.
I wonder whether those words needs to be capitalized.

And they are Altruists largely because they have Empathy.

I would say, not largely, but entirely because they have empathy. That is a necessary condition of social animals; without some degree of empathy, co-existence in groups would be impossible.

The reason how, rather than why, empathy exists is not evident.

No, but it's being studied intensively and is becoming clearer. The 'why', of course is that animals that lack empathy (and affection of some kind) would not be able to raise dependent offspring. This means, their intelligence and learning ability, as well as their physical and social complexity would be limited to the level of reptiles.
So, the mechanism of the evolution of mirror neurons, voice recognition, grooming and other aids to empathy must be related to the life cycle and brain development. Long-lived, large-brained species have more time to learn from others of their kind, and more equipment to store memory. In these species, both the individual and the group gain an advantage by sharing information and resources - that is, helping and communicating.

The term 'God' does not advance the case,

It never has.