visiting prof, Farabi Paradise of Tehran University
10.22034/jpiut.2026.69878.4286
Abstract
This article analyzes one of the most important metaethical challenges to negative utilitarianism, focusing on Ninian Smart's argument for the destruction of the world. Smart shows that if the ultimate goal of morality is only to reduce suffering, then the complete elimination of suffering through the destruction of life can ultimately be justified, a result that is inconsistent with moral intuition. In this study, while examining the responses of defenders of negative utilitarianism, it is shown that they rely solely on practical or psychological obstacles in the logic of destruction and therefore completely deny the essence of the argument, namely the possibility of slipping from reduction to destruction. The article continues by examining historical and everyday examples of the “slippery slope from reduction to elimination” to show that such a tendency is real and dangerous, and at the very least needs to be taken seriously. Finally, it is suggested that negative utilitarianism be accompanied by complementary principles such as the right to life and attention to priorities in order to avoid slipping into an “ethics of destruction.”
tabatabaee, M. (2026). From the decrease of suffering to the destruction of the world: Reassessing Ninian Smart's argument against negative utilitarianism.. Journal of Philosophical Investigations, (), -. doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2026.69878.4286
MLA
tabatabaee, M. . "From the decrease of suffering to the destruction of the world: Reassessing Ninian Smart's argument against negative utilitarianism.", Journal of Philosophical Investigations, , , 2026, -. doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2026.69878.4286
HARVARD
tabatabaee, M. (2026). 'From the decrease of suffering to the destruction of the world: Reassessing Ninian Smart's argument against negative utilitarianism.', Journal of Philosophical Investigations, (), pp. -. doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2026.69878.4286
CHICAGO
M. tabatabaee, "From the decrease of suffering to the destruction of the world: Reassessing Ninian Smart's argument against negative utilitarianism.," Journal of Philosophical Investigations, (2026): -, doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2026.69878.4286
VANCOUVER
tabatabaee, M. From the decrease of suffering to the destruction of the world: Reassessing Ninian Smart's argument against negative utilitarianism.. Journal of Philosophical Investigations, 2026; (): -. doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2026.69878.4286
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