Philosopher Robert Nozick's famous thought experiment invokes a utility monster as a character. And this utility monster derives much higher utility than any other human being for any product or service consumed. And if we want to create a world of maximization of utility, then hell this monster needs to corner almost all of the planet's consumption.
In some simplistic construct, humans want to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
Lets look at some thought threads.
Thread 1:
Suppose companies and their technologies globally keep working on increasing pleasure for humans and reducing pain, could we imagine a world where there is only pleasure and no pain? Is it even possible? And if indeed such a life is reached, would there be need for more and more and more pleasure? Is there possibility of humans to have infinite appetite for pleasure? ...to be continued
Thread 2:
Suppose it is the case that no matter what happens with all technologies and political-economic-social milieu, humans will continue to have pains. But now they shall be caused by different reasons. Does the existence of both pleasure and pain then clearly create the constant need or necessity to innovate? Such that of the various things causing pain, some will keep getting managed...while others will continue or some new ones will come up. In such a scenario, the things that caused pleasure would continue to have lower marginal utility over time (or we will get used to it) and hence we now want more pleasure and hence innovating further.
Thread 3:
Development of various technologies and their political-economic-social milieu such that people now and in times to come will experience many many many more episodes of pain and pleasure (with all shades of intensities) in shorter and shorter age duration, and thus develop the "uselessness" of these or "controlled use" of these and thus move on a path of self-awareness led consumption.
...this is a write up in progress...will be continued shortly
In some simplistic construct, humans want to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
Lets look at some thought threads.
Thread 1:
Suppose companies and their technologies globally keep working on increasing pleasure for humans and reducing pain, could we imagine a world where there is only pleasure and no pain? Is it even possible? And if indeed such a life is reached, would there be need for more and more and more pleasure? Is there possibility of humans to have infinite appetite for pleasure? ...to be continued
Thread 2:
Suppose it is the case that no matter what happens with all technologies and political-economic-social milieu, humans will continue to have pains. But now they shall be caused by different reasons. Does the existence of both pleasure and pain then clearly create the constant need or necessity to innovate? Such that of the various things causing pain, some will keep getting managed...while others will continue or some new ones will come up. In such a scenario, the things that caused pleasure would continue to have lower marginal utility over time (or we will get used to it) and hence we now want more pleasure and hence innovating further.
Thread 3:
Development of various technologies and their political-economic-social milieu such that people now and in times to come will experience many many many more episodes of pain and pleasure (with all shades of intensities) in shorter and shorter age duration, and thus develop the "uselessness" of these or "controlled use" of these and thus move on a path of self-awareness led consumption.
...this is a write up in progress...will be continued shortly
No comments:
Post a Comment