Today’s episode in the history of bad ideas is about one of the central ideas in modern philosophy: utilitarianism, or the view that what matters is the greatest happiness of the greatest number. David talks to philosopher Nikhil Krishnan about how something that sounds so intuitively unobjectionable can produce some extremely objectionable outcomes. What is utility and how do we measure it? Does being a utilitarian actually make you happier? Whose pleasure and pain gets to count? And what happens when killing an innocent person will save many others … should we do it?
Out tomorrow on PPF+: part two of this conversation in which David and Nikhil explore some of the political implications of utilitarianism from what it means for democracy to how it was used to justify colonialism. To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening sign up to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus
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Next Time in The History of Bad Ideas: The Electoral College
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July 26, 2026