DOING OUR BEST FOR HEDONISTIC UTILITARIANISM

Abstract

In this response to the essays by Crisp, Parfit, Hooker and Nakano-Okuno on our The Point of View of the Universe, we focus on the following topics: whether egoism is more susceptible to an evolutionary debunking argument than universal benevolence; our defence of impartial rationalism; wide and narrow definitions of “ethics”; the role of moral rules; the extension of ethics to all sentient beings; how best to define and understand pleasure as an intrinsic value; and whether Ross’s ethic of prima facie duties is as defensible as utilitarianism.