>I don’t share the assumption that the feudal lord’s investment into the hoe project can be plausibly interpreted as some kind of charitable sacrifice.
Whether the feudal lord's investment was altruistic or selfish, the outcome is still a better hoe. That better hoe results in higher crop yields compared to work done. That's good. If those higher crop yields go entirely towards banquets for the lord, then the "good" is very limited compared to if it was distributed to the peasants. But it's very hard to see how those higher yields, on their own, could be "bad".
ahhwell t1_j6nthjw wrote
Reply to comment by doodcool612 in Happiness is an essentially nihilistic ideal — it is the best goal to follow when there is nothing else on the table. A meaningful life on the other hand can embrace more of life including struggles and suffering because it is oriented towards a higher ideal by thelivingphilosophy
>I don’t share the assumption that the feudal lord’s investment into the hoe project can be plausibly interpreted as some kind of charitable sacrifice.
Whether the feudal lord's investment was altruistic or selfish, the outcome is still a better hoe. That better hoe results in higher crop yields compared to work done. That's good. If those higher crop yields go entirely towards banquets for the lord, then the "good" is very limited compared to if it was distributed to the peasants. But it's very hard to see how those higher yields, on their own, could be "bad".