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Decision-Value Utilitarianism
Wesley Cooper
University of Alberta
Abstract.
A
decision value alternative is proposed to the various formulations
of the principle of utility, which counsel maximization of expected
utility as utility is variously conceived. Decision value factors
expected utility into causal expected utility and evidential expected
utility, and it adds a third factor --- symbolic utility. This latter
introduces deontological and a ‘perceived value’ elements into
calculations of utility. It also suggests a solution to a lingering
problem in population ethics, the so-called Repugnant Conclusion that
consequentialist thinking demands a vast population of people leading
lives barely worth living.
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