@evan Serious answer:

In general, one ought to choose the lesser evil, but it may occur that all choices are so gravely wrong that they are disqualified; it would be unethical to choose any one of them.

For instance, if I have 3 candidates, one promising to seize the Alaskan panhandle; another to annex the Danish half of Hans Island; and the third to conquer the Turks and Caicos — then I ought to spoil my ballot.

This is ultimately a question of the limits of #utilitarian ethics.

#LesserEvil

“Brutalism Friday”

“Makpetrol Gas Station”, Gjorgji Golev, 1973, Ohrid, North Macedonia

#modernism #socialistarchitecture #socmod #socialistmodernism #utilitarian-architecture #socheritage #brutalismfriday #brutalism #brutalisticarchitecture #architecture #architecturalphotography

“Brutalism Friday”

“The Bierpinsel”, or Beer Brush, a 47-metre tall brutalist tower on the Schloßstraße in Berlin Steglitz, was built between 1972 and 1976 by the architects Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte.  The distinctive form was inspired by the silhouette of a tree.

#socmod #socialistmodernism #utilitarian-architecture #socheritage
#brutalismfriday #brutalism #brutalisticarchitecture #architecture #architecturalphotography

“Brutalism Friday”

“Historical-Ethnographic Museum”, Osh, Kyrgyzstan; 1978; architect: K. Nazirov.

The National Historical and Archaeological Museum Complex Sulayman is a museum in Osh, Kyrgyzstan was established in 1949. The present museum building was completed during the Soviet era in 1978 to celebrate the 3,000th anniversary of the city of Osh.

#socialistmodernism #utilitarian-architecture
#brutalismfriday #brutalism #brutalisticarchitecture #architecture #architecturalphotography

“Brutalism Friday”

“Former Tuzla Bank, (Now NLB)”
Tuzla, BiH, 1977, Architect V.Stojanović

#socmod #socialistmodernism #utilitarian-architecture #socheritage
#brutalismfriday #brutalism #brutalisticarchitecture #architecture #architecturalphotography

“Brutalism Friday”

'Creature of industry' Blast furnace and dust collector, Danetsk, Ukraine. by Czech photographer Viktor Macha

#socmod #socialistmodernism #utilitarian-architecture #socheritage
#brutalismfriday #brutalism #brutalisticarchitecture #architecture #architecturalphotography

“Brutalism Friday”

“Fountain to José Martí”, a figurehead of Cuban independence, and the revolutionary leader Abel Santamaría, Santiago de Cuba.
photography by Matthew Connors

#socmod #socialistmodernism #utilitarian-architecture #socheritage
#brutalismfriday #brutalism #brutalisticarchitecture #architecture #architecturalphotography

I don't use a kickstand, but the amount of hate that people get over at #Reddit's /r/bicycling when people ask about kickstands is ridiculous.

"i PaID a MiLlIoN dOlLaRs FoR a BiKe ThAt Is OnE oUnCe LiGhTeR aNd NoW yOu hAvE tHe AuDaCiTy To AdD wEiGhT tO YoUr BiKe To MaKe It MoRe PrAcTiCaL???!!1!? I hAtE yOu NoW!!!!!1! ZOMG"

#Bike #BikeTooter #Bicycling #Kickstands #Rant #Snooty #Exclusion #Exclusionary #Kickstand #Practicality #Utility #Utilitarian

I identify as a #consequentialist and a (negative) #utilitarian, I suspect that existence is probably not worth it because of the asymmetry of #qualia, and yet I have no intention of ending my own life (and I think that’s rational). Why?

When we’re #children we don’t really understand what suffering is, and we don’t even know that living is a choice. So we live.

#Teens and young adults famously tend to get closer to one of two poles: either they’re disappointed, miserable, or lost (some of those do end their lives), or they are having a great time: they’re at their prime, disease and pain are unknown to them, they discover pleasures, etc (those are happy to live).

We #adults are usually so entangled in relationships by this stage of life that even if/when we decided that non-existence beat existence for us, we wouldn’t want to cause more suffering to those who love us and those who depend on us. So we (usually) live.

A #photograph of the #BridgeofLions in #StAugustine, #Florida, which #bridges the #MatanzasRiver and #IntraCoastalWaterway to #AnastasiaIsland. The #bridge was intended to be as much a work of #art as a #utilitarian object. To grace the entrance of the bridge, prominent local citizen Dr. Andrew #Anderson commissioned the #RomanelliStudios of #Florence, #Italy to recreate the famous #MediciLion #statues in the #RoyalPalace in #Madrid, #Spain. These incredible #artworks eventually gave the bridge its name.
The bridge had to be restored in 2006, and the #lions were removed for their protection, and replaced in 2011.
https://heronfox.pixels.com/featured/the-bridge-of-lions-heron-and-fox.html

@ColbyDigsSoil great example of the #utilitarian side of the progressive era in #conservation! This depresses me somewhat - that we’ve known our #economy and even our survival depends on the state of the environment, but we’re still subsidizing #oil and #mining companies like they’re a public good. We’re still waffling over #climatechange.

On one hand, Vimes is clearly portrayed as a *good* person for making the choice to use his limited income to support others. Perhaps Pratchett is throwing some support behind #anarchism here.

On the other hand, this story could very easily be used to set up a #libertarian #utilitarian critique of mutual aid.

An #EffectiveAltruism fanatic might note that if Vimes invested in good boots, he would have even more money available to support others.

I'm drawn to industrial estates... places which are seldom recorded. Private, secure spaces where I find myself wondering about their use. I love the mix of architectural styles... functional, utilitarian, but visually fascinating in their variety of shapes, textures & colours...

#photography #place #mundane #everyday #utilitarian #industrial

Proud as punch to be one of Megan McGurk’s guests in ‘Heroes of the Mersey’, the latest episode of the National Museums #Liverpool Podcast.

We covered a lot including:

#Selflessness, #courage, #community, beauty in the #utilitarian, #environment, the #ClimateCrisis, the #EconomicCrisis, #necessity and #kindness.

Have a listen (Megan introduces me around the 12m05s mark):

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-surcn-13220bf

#LifeboatStationProject #RNLI #Mersey #maritime #museum #photography #podcast

Proud as punch to have been one of Megan McGurk’s guests in ‘Heroes of the Mersey’, the latest episode of the National Museums Liverpool Podcast.

We covered a lot including:

#Selflessness, #courage, #community, beauty in the #utilitarian, #environment, the #ClimateCrisis, the #EconomicCrisis, #necessity and #kindness.

Have a listen (Megan introduces me around the 12m05s mark):

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-surcn-13220bf

#LifeboatStationProject #RNLI #Liverpool #Mersey #maritime #podcast

Proud as punch to have been one of Megan McGurk’s guests in ‘Heroes of the Mersey’, the latest episode of the National Museums Liverpool Podcast.

We covered a lot including:

#Selflessness, #courage, #community, farewells, beauty in the #utilitarian, #environment, the #ClimateCrisis, the #EconomicCrisis, #necessity and #kindness.

Have a listen (Megan introduces me around the 12m05s mark):

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-surcn-13220bf

#LifeboatStationProject #RNLI #Liverpool #Mersey #maritime

Those with more active reading habits will want their #books and #magazines to be within reach or displayed within sight, but most shelves and #coffeetables serve only one or the other. This side table can do both, and it puts your #reading materials on a pedestal designed to be both #utilitarian yet also appealing in a certain brutalist #fashion

https://www.yankodesign.com/2022/11/26/this-brutalist-side-table-enthrones-your-books-and-magazines-for-everyone-to-see/

#furniture #design #industrialdesign #interiordecoration

It's true that any #PublicSquare will be controlled by some form of #authority, whether orderly civic institutions or Mad Max gangster law. But the degree to which that authority is democratic, benign, fascist, or malignant can certainly vary greatly.

I would take a #utilitarian definition of what constitutes #democratic: an institution is democratic to the degree that its decision-making reflects the will of the most stakeholders most affected by those decisions. #Mastodon #federation

t's true that any #PublicSquare will be controlled by some form of #authority, whether orderly civic institutions or Mad Max gangster law. But the degree to which that authority is democratic, benign, fascist, or malignant can certainly vary greatly.

I would take a #utilitarian definition of what constitutes #democratic: an institution is democratic to the degree that its decision-making reflects the will of the most stakeholders most affected by those decisions. #Mastodon #federation

#Emotion words were used less by #Spanish bilinguals that read and wrote about whether to sacrifice someone to save lives (on footbridge #trolleyProblem) in their #secondLanguage (#English).

Using their 2nd #language also led to more #utilitarian #moral decisions and arguments—an effect mediated by using (fewer) high-arousal words.

Support for #dualProcessTheory claims that #emotion can promote #deontological #ethical thinking?

https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069221134193

#xPhi #DecisionScience #socialPsychology