Tag Archives: Utilitarianism

The One Where I Told a Little Lie

Posted on November 22, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Can you go through life and never tell a lie? Honesty is the best policy. But it’s a policy — not an unbreakable rule. If most of us weren’t honest most of the time, social life would be impossible. Nobody … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life | Tagged Ethics, Grading, Graduate school, Higher education, Honesty, Morality, Motivation, Pragmatism, Teaching, Utilitarianism | 1 Comment

Who Gets Veto Power?

Posted on October 2, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

A while back, I worked for a tech company where I reported to the company’s CEO. The main thing I learned was never to take a job at a company founded and run by a business-school professor. The other thing … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Society | Tagged Democracy, Greatest happiness principle, Minoritarianism, Transgenderism, Utilitarianism, Veto | Leave a comment

Facing Moral Dilemmas

Posted on August 27, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

What makes things moral or immoral? People have lots of different views about it. My own view is that what’s moral: maximizes human happiness, minimizes needless suffering, and avoids doing things that are almost universally considered wrong. But even if … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Philosophy | Tagged Back to 1989, Greatest happiness principle, Income distribution, Moral decisions, Moral dilemma, Morality, Offshoring, Trolley Problem, Utilitarianism | 4 Comments

Whose Welfare Counts, and How Much?

Posted on January 27, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

This blog post isn’t about what you’ll at first think it’s about. So bear with me. The United Kingdom’s National Trust was established in 1895 to showcase and protect Britain’s national heritage. Among other things, it gives tours of historic … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Philosophy, Political Science, Society | Tagged Britain, Entertainment Media, Gays, History, Minoritarianism, Minority rights, National Trust, News Media, Special interest groups, Utilitarianism | 2 Comments

Everyone’s Welfare Counts

Posted on October 30, 2018 by N.S. Palmer

We should try to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It sounds like a pretty good idea. And it is. But it’s not the whole answer. The problem is that like lower animals, humans distinguish between … Continue reading →

Posted in Judaism, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology | Tagged Choice, Ethics, Group behavior, Group membership, Human Dignity, Moral Choice, Nozick, Side constraints, Utilitarianism | Leave a comment

Love is not the Answer

Posted on August 16, 2018 by N.S. Palmer

“What is the question?” Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged Compassion, Famous last words, Gertrude Stein, James T. Kirk, love, Pavlov, Propaganda, Utilitarianism, Wittgenstein | Leave a comment

Never Give Up Hope

Posted on September 28, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jewish Journal: War. Terrorism. Riots. Crime. Unemployment. Political corruption. Intolerance. There are many reasons to give up hope. Don’t. If you give up hope, then you give up on the future. If you give … Continue reading →

Posted in Judaism, The Jewish Journal | Tagged Einstein, Fate, Freedom, Hope, Jonathan Sacks, Perseverance, Utilitarianism, William Penn | Leave a comment

Moral Patterns and Moral Decisions

Posted on December 10, 2015 by N.S. Palmer

My new blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Some things in life are simple. Some aren’t. In fact, a lot of them aren’t. That’s a problem, because we always want things to be simple. And if they aren’t, then we still … Continue reading →