Lillian Young: Outside Reading: Hetch Hetchy Dam Debate + Utilitarianism

The Hetch Hetchy Dam debate brings up some ideas about utilitarianism. While I believe utilitarianism could be good for some ethical decision-making, it should be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to the environment and solving environmental issues. It seems to take a more anthropocentric approach, completely ignoring the intrinsic value of nature. There seems to be a focus on short-term gains rather than long-term sustainability, so some environmental issues that require long-term solutions may not be appropriately dealt with in a utilitarian sense. Utilitarianism requires maximizing overall happiness, but something that benefits one region or group might have negative consequences for another. That leads to the question of what maximum happiness actually looks like, which seems like an almost impossible question to answer. With things like happiness, pleasure, and pain, I believe they're situational and personal. What might be the least amount of pleasure for one might not be the same amount for another. 

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