Student Activist Diary

Looking for practical and expert advice for your student problems?

Well, er…look further, because we’re just asking a philosopher.

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My flatmate wants to go out and get drunk all the time, but I want to stay in and concentrate on uni work. What should I do?
– Hardworking, Plymouth 

Well, Hardworking, you will be greatly relieved to hear that your position is supported by one of the great proponents of utilitarianism.

John Stuart Mill famously said, “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question” (Utilitarianism: 1863).

Tell your flatmate this. Make it absolutely clear that he is the pig and the fool. I have yet to meet a single person who won’t change their habits after hearing that a dead philosopher disapproves of them.

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I want to go out all the time and get drunk, but my flatmate wants to stay in and do uni work. What should I do?
– Bored and Sober, Plymouth 

Well, Bored and Sober, you will be greatly relieved to hear that your position is supported by one of the great proponents of utilitarianism.

Jeremy Bentham famously said of utilitarianism that its, “fundamental axiom … [is] it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong” (A Fragment of Government: 1776).

Tell your flatmate this. Make it absolutely clear that a greater happiness for a greater number will result from your both going out. I have yet to meet a single person who won’t change their habits after hearing that a dead philosopher disapproves of them.

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Got a problem our friendly Philosopher can solve? Send her an email at youaskthereforesheis@gmail.com!
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