Infinite ethics is the branch of moral philosophy that studies the ethical implications of living in an infinite universe.
The possibility that the universe is infinite, and that it might therefore contain an infinite number of morally relevant beings, is a challenge to moral theories that instruct us to increase the good in the world. Briefly, the trouble is that in an infinite universe the amount of good may be infinite no matter what we do, and it is difficult to compare infinities.
I started writing a criticism about infinite ethics, but after seeing how few posts there are on the subject it occurred to me that maybe no one takes infinite ethics seriously so no one would care.
I have two comments below:
- "Yes, infinite ethics is a serious problem and deserves criticism."
- "No, infinite ethics is not a serious problem and doesn't deserve criticism."
Please upvote whichever one you agree with.
More nuanced takes are also welcome.
I think the wording of your options is a bit misleading. It's valuable to publish your criticism of any topic that's taking up non-trivial EA resources, regardless of its true worth as a topic - otherwise we might be wasting bednets money. The important question is whether or not infinite ethics fits this category (I'm unsure, but my best guess is no right now and maybe yes in a few years). Whether or not something is a "serious problem" or "deserves criticism", at least for me, seems to point to a substantively different claim. More like, "I agree/disagree with the people who think infinite ethics is a valuable research field". That's not the relevant question.