Vladimir_Nesov comments on Exterminating life is rational - Less Wrong

17 Post author: PhilGoetz 06 August 2009 04:17PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (272)

You are viewing a single comment's thread.

Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 06 August 2009 09:15:36PM *  1 point [-]

You can put monetary value on humanity, just as you can on a person's life.

Comment author: Alicorn 06 August 2009 09:24:47PM 1 point [-]

If humanity goes away, who will collect the savings?

Comment author: PhilGoetz 06 August 2009 10:17:46PM 3 points [-]

I see what he's saying, but there's something wrong with it. If you put a monetary value on a life, it means that you could increase utility by trading that life for more than that much money, because you could do things with that money that would increase other people's utility enough to make up for the life. But once you've traded the last life away, you can't use the money.

Comment author: Aurini 06 August 2009 10:59:53PM 1 point [-]

Robert A. Heinlein: An extinct species has no moral behaviour. ~An address to a Westpoint graduating class