Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment: Raskolnikov's Mathematical Evaluation of Moral Dilemma Presented To Him Exemplifies The Empirical View of Utilitarianism "One death, and a thousand lives in exchange--it's simple arithmetic." Raskolnikov's mathematical evaluation of the moral dilemma presented to him in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment exemplifies the empirical view of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism attempts to distinguish between right and wrong by measuring a decision base