Under the Total View one possible outcome is better than another if and only if it contains more happiness. If the best way to increase total happiness is to greatly increase the number of people while greatly reducing their average happiness, then the Total View must advocate population growth. Derek Parfit uses this feature of the Total View to generate the following conclusion (1984, p. 388).
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© 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Mulgan, T. (2004). Two Parfit Puzzles. In: Tännsjö, T., Ryberg, J. (eds) The Repugnant Conclusion. Library Of Ethics And Applied Philosophy, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2473-3_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2473-3_3
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