rvkevin t1_j3l1a23 wrote on January 9, 2023 at 7:53 AM

Reply to comment by contractualist in The Utility Coach Thought Experiment by contractualist

If people wouldn't want to be forced to be happy, then it's not the case that forcing the utility coach on people would raise their utility since utility is a direct measure of that individual's wants. However, the hypothetical assumed that forcing the utility coach on people would increase their utility, so your reasoning directly contradicts an assumption of the hypothetical.

contractualist OP t1_j3ox7u6 wrote on January 10, 2023 at 1:41 AM

I don't make the statement. I ask the question and if people have the intuition that forcing someone to be happy is wrong, I explain that intuition via the social contract. It doesn't violate the assumption given that what is right isn't solely determined by reference to utility, which is the point of the hypothetical.