Hi guys

I've been a utilitarian for many years now. In fact, I've been a utilitarian for longer than I knew what a utilitarian was. When I first came across a description of utilitarianism, my first thought was "Hey! That sounds like what I think!". Unfortunately, I haven't got much further since then, so I'm here in the hope that this forum will help me answer some ethical questions that have been bugging me a long time now.

Apart from that, I'm an agnostic, socialist, transhumanist and all-around massive nerd. I've just finished a degree in biology, and soon I hope to do a master's in the general area of human social evolution, a subject I believe has important applications for all of us. On a less serious note, I enjoy video games, Electric Six and mockery (usually of myself). I hope to have some interesting conversations here. See you around.

I've been a utilitarian for many years now. In fact, I've been a utilitarian for longer than I knew what a utilitarian was. When I first came across a description of utilitarianism, my first thought was "Hey! That sounds like what I think!"...

Apart from that, I'm an ... all-around massive nerd.

Me too! I can't call myself a socialist because I believe a free market system often delivers happiness to people more effectively than government & regulation. I'm an atheist. And I'm neutral about transhumanism, although transhumanism is an idea that is widely supported around here.

I hope you enjoy your stay here and find a lot of stimulating conversation. That's what were here for

Welcome aboard, Scobie. I'll just second everything Ryan said, without actually reading it. It's a pretty safe bet

Hullo Mr. Scobie. I'm an anthropomorphic dog, wuff! LOL.

Socialist can mean a bunch of things nowadays, myself I believe democracy is the least bad form of government. Welcome aboard!

Mike Retriever wrote:Socialist can mean a bunch of things nowadays, myself I believe democracy is the least bad form of government.

It's true that "socialism" is one of those words that means so many things to so many different people that it's now effectively meaningless. Perhaps I should clarify. I believe in a democratic system in which most or all resources and means of production are under government control. Depending on the particulars, this might actually count as a far-left mixed economy, but I find it easier (and shorter) to call it "socialism". And to be honest I'm still undecided about the value of democracy. I'm still undecided about a lot of things, which is why I'm here.

And thanks for the welcomes, everyone.

Most of the people here probably have more flexible political views than average, since they're based on data rather than ideology. That said, I think we're better off being militantly apolitical.

I'll just second everything Ryan said, without actually reading it. It's a pretty safe bet

Thanks Arepo, that's the way I'm starting to feel about almost all conclusions reached on felicifia.

Hi Scobie, I think if you look into Arepo's arguments for staying out of politics, you should find they follow logically from utilitarianism

RyanCarey wrote:Hi Scobie, I think if you look into Arepo's arguments for staying out of politics, you should find they follow logically from utilitarianism

I'm open to having my views changed. I'll certainly have a look at what Arepo has to say.

I should say that I've slightly changed my view since writing that, since I think it's a mistake to see spent on one utilitarian project as transferable to another such project with no loss. In practice, the extra time is likely to be spread out among your daily activities, most of which won't be utilitarian.