An early (2013) metaethics essay where Scott voices doubts about utilitarianism and gropes toward contractualism (later developed more fully in 'The Invisible Nation' [SSC-308]). The doubts: utilitarianism's superstructure is just fitted to his moral intuitions (so it can't ground them); the wireheading example (utilitarianism says build the better wirehead machine, his intuitions say restore art/love — and he sides with intuitions) reveals he's really following 'maximize the world's resemblance to W (my desired world-state)' = his own desires with assumed universal agreement. He then gropes toward objectivity via Platonic contractualism (the Alicians/Bobbites imagining the contract they'd sign if they could coordinate) and 'communion' (degrees of moral communion; 'no contract' with the wireheaders).

Quality 71 · Strong. High-Strong: a genuine, thoughtful metaethics essay with real ideas (the 'maximize resemblance to W' reduction; the contractualism/communion groping), but exploratory and tentative — Scott flags he's 'rehashing' others and it's superseded by the fuller SSC-308. 71.

Claude’s paradigm shift 54 · Moderate. Original groping toward contractualism + the 'maximize resemblance to W' framing. B54.

Real-world impact 2 · Minor. Within-discourse; a precursor to his contractualism. RWI2.

Whose Utilitarianism?