Introduction to suffering-focused ethics

Moral Frameworks of Suffering-focused Ethics

• Strong Negative utilitarianism

  • Only concerned with minimizing suffering

• Weak Negative Utilitarianism

  • Other names

    • ‘negative-leaning’, ‘partially asymmetric’, or ‘partially suffering-focused’

  • Suffering primarily, happiness secondarily

    • Suffering exchange rate > happiness exchange rate 1.x > 1.0

• Negative consequentialism

  • includes suffering (experience) as well as injustice

• Approach: Unacceptable Tradeoffs

  • Unacceptable to purchase positivity in exchange for negativity

    • To which degree?

      • Positivity for acceptable quality of life

      • Negativity from minor to death, intense suffering

• How other views support suffering-focused ethics

  • Focus on well being: Implies preventing bad

  • Population Ethics with view that increasing population does not increase welfare: Implies preventing suffering

Suffering vs Positive Value (e.g,. happiness)

• Urgency

  • Suffering has urgency

    • 'Emergency' is reduce suffering not happiness

    • moral monster,s evil actions

      • always about suffering not about failing to create positive values

    • Situation: Extreme Suffering + Extreme Good = Overall-bad

      • Should prevent whole situation

      • Impossible to counterbalance with good

  • Good has no urgency

    • Not increase seems wholly fine & unproblematic

  • Questions: Is this view from..

    • aversion to suffering?

      • Would be solved via equanimity

    • lack of sympathetic joy?

      • Would be solved via cultivating sympathethic joy?

    • intellectual perception rather than direct experience?

• Good & Bad

  • Good: Flawless

    • Definition

      • No need to change anything

      • Cannot make it better

    • No spectrum

    • Moral Implication

      • No moral imperative to add anything/improve

    • Reality

      • rarely or never reach it

  • Bad: Flawed

    • Spectrum i.e., varies in degree

  • Approach to Morality

    • Reduce flawed. Not increase flawless

  • No experience that are a positive counterpart to suffering

    • e.g., positive final value, positive well-being