Abstract
Beliefs in the impossibility of interpersonal comparison of welfare and the unacceptability of utilitarianism are based on a non-materialist solution to the theory of mind, i.e. on the existence of a soul. The compellingness of the theory of evolution and some discoveries in brain sciences render (philosophical) materialism very persuasive. The acceptance of materialism implies the negation of free will, non-significance of the self (no substantial reason to care much more about the welfare of one's own future self than the welfare of others), possibility of interpersonal comparison of welfare, compellingness of utilitarianism, and the possibility of conscious machines. Searle's argument on the impossibility of rigorous social sciences is however rejected.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Churchland PM (1985) On the speculative nature of our self conception: a reply to some criticism. Can J Philos (Suppl) 11:157–173
Churchland PM (1988) Matter and consciousness. Revised edition. MIT Press, Cambridge Mass.
Damasio H, Damasio R (1989) Lesion analysis in neuropsychology. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Dawkins MS (1990) From an animal's point of view: motivation, fitness, and animal welfare. Behav Brain Sci 13:1–54
Deecke L, Grozinger B, Kornhuber HH (1976) Voluntary finger movement in man: cerebral potentials and theory. Biol Cybern 23:99–119
Eccles J (1973) Brain, speech and consciousness. Naturwissenschaften 60:167–176
Eccles J (1989) Evolution of the brain: creation of the self. Routledge, London
Fodor JA (1968) Psychol explanation. Random House, New York
Foss J (1985) A materialist's misgivings about eliminative materialism. Can J Philos. (Suppl) 11:105–133
Gazzaniga MS (1970) The bisected brain. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York
Gazzaniga MS, LeDoux JE (1978) The integrated mind. Plenum Press, New York
Harsanyi JC (1953) Cardinal utility in welfare economics and in the theory of risk-taking. J Polit Econ 61:434–435
Harsanyi JC (1955) Cardinal welfare, individualistic ethics, and interpersonal comparisons of utility. J Polit Econ 63:309–321. Reprinted in Arrow and Scitovsky (eds). Readings in welfare economics (1969, pp 46–60)
Harsanyi JC (1975) Nonlinear social welfare functions. Theory and Decis 6:311–332
Harth E (1982) Windows on the mind: reflections on the physical basis of consciousness. Harvester Press, Brighton, Sussex
Honderich T (1988) A theory of determinism: the mind, neroscience, and life-hopes. Clarendon Press, Oxford
Kolb B, Whishaw, IO (1990) Fundamentals of human neuropsychology (3rd ed). Freeman, New York
Korsgaard CM (1989) Personal identity and the unity of agency: a Katian response to Parfit. Philos Publ Affairs 18:101–132
Libet B et al (1979) Subjective referral of the timing for a conscious sensory experience. Brain 102:193–224
Libet B (1985) Unconscious cerebral initiative and the role of conscious will in voluntary action. Behav Brain Sci 8:529–566 (with open peer commentary)
Libet B (1989) The timing of a subjective experience. Behav Brain Sci 12:183–185
McGinn C (1989) Can we solve the mind-body problem? Mind. 98:349–366
Margenau H (1984) The miracle of existence. Ox Bow Press, Woodbridge, Connecticut
Miller SL (1957) The formation of organic compounds on the primitive earth. In: Nigrelli RF (ed), Modern ideas on spontaneous generation. Ann NY Acad Sci 260–275
Miller SL, Orgel LE (1974) The origins of life on earth. NJ Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Morden M (1990) Free will, self-causation, and strange loops. Aust J Philos 68:59–73
Mueller DC (1989) Public choice II. A revised of Public Choice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Nagel T (1979) Mortal questions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Ng Y-K (1975) Bentham or Bergson? Finite sensibility, utility functions, and social welfare functions. Rev Econ Stud 42:545–570
Ng Y-K (1981 a) Welfarism: a defence against Sen's attack. Econ J 91:527–530
Ng Y-K (1981 b) Bentham or Nash? On the acceptable form of social welfare functions. Econ Record 57:238–250
Ng Y-K (1985) Some fundamental issues in social welfare. In: Feiwel G (ed), Issues in Contemporary Microeconomics and Welfare. Macmillan, London, pp 435–469
Ng Y-K (1990) Welfarism and utilitarianism: a rehabilitation. Utilitas 2(2):171–193
Ng Y-K (1991) Towards welfare biology: evolutionary economics and population dynamics of animal consciousness and suffering. Psycholoquy: Refereed Electronic Journal of Peer Discussion. vol 2, 7
Parfit D (1984) Reasons and persons, Claredon Press, Oxford
Penfield W (1975) The mystery of the mind. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New York
Puccetti R (1981) The case for mental duality: evidence from split-brain data and other considerations. Behav Brain Sci 4:93–123 (with peer commentaries)
Puccetti R (1987) Two paddlers or one? Behav Brain Sci 10:154
Puccetti R, Dykes RW (1978) Sensory cortex and the mind-brain problem. Behav Brain Sci 3:337–375 (with peer commentaries)
Robbins L (1932) An essay on the nature and significance of economic science. Macmillan, London
Robbins L (1938) Interpersonal comparison of utility: a comment. Econ J 48:635–641
Ryle G (1949) The concept of mind. Barnes & Noble, New York
Schechtman M (1990) Personhood and personal identity. J Philos 87:71–92
Searle J (1980) Minds, brains, and programs. Behav Brain Sci 3:417–458 (with peer commentaries)
Searle J (1984) Minds, brains, and science. British Broadcasting, London
Zimmerman MJ (1988) An essay on moral responsibility, Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
I am grateful to Dennis Mueller and Aubrey Townsend for commenting on the first draft.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ng, YK. Utilitarianism and interpersonal comparison. Soc Choice Welfare 9, 1–15 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00177666
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00177666