Doesn't a terrible society lead to lower levels of happiness? If so, then discipline increases happiness in the long run, though not, as you note, in the short run.
@@danielwarton5343 I think we do mostly agree. I was just pushing back a little bit on the claim that the child and the parent are not happier in the end.
Excellent lecture, thank you for sharing! I carefully read Utilitarianism by Mill, and your discussion helped me to expand my understanding and takeaways from the text. It was much appreciated.
Oh my these students judging what 'should' be done with the money when they give it to homeless people : truly appalling to my moral sense ! Either you give or you don't but you don't moralise in a petty way or belittle the person you give to. Your helping them materially not giving them a parenting/life lesson. Life more complicated than "good" or "bad" moral decisions its also event and things that happen. What if the booze or the drugs make the person feel happier, even just for an evening ? Also if i were homeless I'd probably just be happy if people let me judge what to do with the money even if that means getting another bottle of wine or a bear instead of saving up for god knows what better motif. Stop shaming poor people whatever they do !
This lecture has taught me that liberalism is an incredible magnet for irrelevant straw man arguments. How about having single payer healthcare and giving everyone healthcare at half the cost? Would that be utilitarian? I mean in the US. It's obviously utilitarian in every other modern country in the world, including Cuba.
