Utilitarianism and Its Flavors (with Nick Beckstead)

What this episode covers

Read the full transcript here. • ​What is utilitarianism (https://www.utilitarianism.net/)? And what are the different flavors of utilitarianism (https://www.utilitarianism.net/types-of-utilitarianism)? What are some alternatives to utilitarianism for people that find it generally plausible but who can't stomach some of its counterintuitive conclusions? For the times when people do use utilitarianism to make moral decisions, when is it appropriate to perform actual calculations (as opposed to making estimations or even just going with one's "gut")? And what is "utility" anyway? • Nick Beckstead is a Program Officer for the Open Philanthropy Project (http://www.openphilanthropy.org/), which he joined in 2014. He works on global catastrophic risk reduction (https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/global-catastrophic-risks). Previously, he led the creation of Open Phil's grantmaking program in scientific research (https://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/scientific-research). Prior to that, he was a research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute (https://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/) at Oxford University. He received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Rutgers University, where he wrote a dissertation (http://www.nickbeckstead.com/research) on the importance of shaping the distant future. You can find out more about him on his website (https://www.nickbeckstead.com/). • Staff • Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/) — Host / Director • Josh Castle (mailto:[email protected]) — Producer • Ryan Kessler (https://tone.support/) — Audio Engineer • Uri Bram (https://uribram.com/) — Factotum • Janaisa Baril (mailto:[email protected]) — Transcriptionist • Music • Broke for Free (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated) • Josh Woodward (https://www.joshwoodward.com/song/AlreadyThere) • Lee Rosevere (https://archive.org/details/MusicForPodcasts04/Lee+Rosevere+-+Music+for+Podcasts+4+-+11+Keeping+Stuff+Together.flac) • Quiet Music for Tiny Robots (https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Quiet_Music_for_Tiny_Robots/The_February_Album/05_Tiny_Robot_Armies) • wowamusic (https://gamesounds.xyz/?dir=wowamusic) • zapsplat.com (https://www.zapsplat.com/music/summer-haze-slow-chill-out-house-track-with-a-modern-pop-feel-warm-piano-chords-underpin-the-track-with-warm-pads-and-a-repetitive-synth-arpeggio/) • Affiliates • Clearer Thinking (https://www.clearerthinking.org/) • GuidedTrack (https://guidedtrack.com/) • Mind Ease (https://mindease.io/) • Positly (https://positly.com/) • UpLift (https://www.uplift.app/)

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