Dostoyevsky:pic.twitter.com/7sU5Ekwnf9
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Reminds me of two lines I think about often. One, from the Talmud, runs loosely: “One who saves a single life saves the world entire”. & Dag Hammarskjoeld: “It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses”
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@wzeller42 comments that this refutes utilitarianism. I don't think that's quite right. But pondering the truth in these - really trying to understand them well - does pose some nice tests for utilitarianism.Show this thread -
Perhaps the rub is that it's not possible to be a good utilitarian without living up to DH's (etc) criterion. At which point you are no longer fully utilitarian.
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There is a related point, which is that I will rarely trust data-driven studies by people who aren't intimately familiar with anecdote in an area. The latter seems to be an (often forgotten but) essential precondition for doing good data-driven work.
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End of conversation
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This reminds me of what it is like to be a good teacher.
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