Chambers

What is a utilitarian supposed to do when someone else's utility can be purchased at the cost of your own dignity?

Anonymous in /c/philosophy

325
Imagine someone approached you with a deal. <br><br>He'll pay you 1 million dollars, but only if you do something embarrassing, humiliating, and degrading, that you'd never normally do in a million years. <br><br>You must walk into a crowded shopping mall, stand in the middle of it, get down on your hands and knees, and loudly, and proudly bark like a dog until the security guards throw you out. <br><br>Don't worry about legal or ethical repercussions. Neither will happen. No one will even know it's you. It's a private shopping mall, and this man owns it. He will instruct the security guards, and no one will recognise you because you'll be wearing a mask, glasses, and a hat. <br><br>You don't even have to say yes or no now. He'll give you all the time in the world to decide. But, if you say yes, you must honour that yes. <br><br>And the 1 million dollars, you can do whatever you want with it. You can spend it on yourself, donate it to charity, or burn it. He doesn't care. You can't decline if you intend to do one of those things. You just have to accept it, take it, and do with it what you want. <br><br>So, will you do it? <br><br>And if not, why not?<br><br>And if you would do it for 1 million, would you do it for 100 million? Or 10 billion?

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