The Deranged Finger Chopper

Cue-Ball 66 · #1 10-13-2006, 02:34 PM

So here's the scenario. There is a man who takes indescribable pleasure out of chopping off a person's index finger. This pleasure is unimaginable, and is more pleasurable than anything you will ever experience.

Should this man then be allowed to remove someone's index finger, if the enjoyment he gets far outweighs the pain and discomfort they have for the rest of their life?

The net happiness level in the world would increase after all...making the world a "happier" place.

ojc02 · #2 10-13-2006, 02:50 PM

A utilitarian would say yes, unless you argue that living in a society where it was allowable for someone to remove your finger would be a huge negative for everyone.

An AC'er (I think) would say that your paid security force would punish someone who tried to remove your finger.

An objectivist would say that the finger-chopper's rights end when they try to use force on you (or others).

FortunaMaximus · #3 10-13-2006, 02:57 PM

The pragmatist would suggest if the man could find a willing person to have his finger chopped off, the individual could be compensated financially.

I mean, in a day and age where every pleasure can be found in the Yellow Pages or flying elsewhere in the world...

madnak · #4 10-13-2006, 05:03 PM

But to maximize happiness, doesn't he need to chop off as many fingers as possible?

Borodog · #5 10-13-2006, 05:05 PM

[ QUOTE ]
So here's the scenario. There is a man who takes indescribable pleasure out of chopping off a person's index finger. This pleasure is unimaginable, and is more pleasurable than anything you will ever experience.

Should this man then be allowed to remove someone's index finger, if the enjoyment he gets far outweighs the pain and discomfort they have for the rest of their life?

The net happiness level in the world would increase after all...making the world a "happier" place.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the precise argument that shows the Coase "Solution" to be full of [censored].

morphball · #6 10-13-2006, 05:15 PM

Watch the movie Feed, it deals with this issue, sickly

madnak · #7 10-13-2006, 05:30 PM

A better question might be: Will those who claim to be utilitarians willingly give up their fingers in this situation? I probably would, actually, but the reality is that 99.9% of people would not which illustrates that "total happiness" is much less important to people, psychologically, than self-interest. Most human altruism has a reciprocal basis, and cases like these that are "anti-reciprocal" typically don't encourage altruism.

guesswest · #8 10-13-2006, 06:27 PM

It's true some kinds of utilitarian would allow this. But a utilitarian would also say this wouldn't be the reality.

A utilitarian would also say it's ok to dip all of humankind in battery acid if the question read 'assuming it makes us happier, is it ok to dip all of humankind in battery acid?'.

ojc02 · #9 10-13-2006, 06:48 PM

You would give up your finger?? Wow. I'm actually speechless [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

FortunaMaximus · #10 10-13-2006, 08:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]
But to maximize happiness, doesn't he need to chop off as many fingers as possible?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, yes, but how many index fingers does a person have or need? And would the individual be able to afford it? Compensation would be rather high relative to the yearly median income.