wedrifid comments on Our House, My Rules - Less Wrong

36 Post author: David_J_Balan 02 November 2009 12:44AM

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Comment author: wedrifid 02 November 2009 02:43:57PM 3 points [-]

Among cases where parents and their child disagree as to whether the child should take psychoactive medication, do you think that there are more where the child is right, or more where the parents are right ? ("right" meaning more or less "better for the long term health and happiness of the child)

An answer to this question would be more a comment on the efficacy of popular pharmaceutical interventions than a comment on human judgement.

More generally, I do not consider the possible stupidity of other people to be a good justification for the abuse (pharmaceutical or otherwise) of me, or people like me. I feel absolutely no obligation to support mores that would be bad for me or an entire class of people that I empathise with.

Comment author: Emile 02 November 2009 03:19:37PM 4 points [-]

I feel absolutely no obligation to support mores that would be bad for me or an entire class of people that I empathise with.

But how do you know that giving the children (instead of the parents) the last word on whether or not they take psychoactive medications will actualy result in better results for the children ?

Or is it that you only emphathise with smart children, not with stupid children ?

I'm not convinced that the policy you propose (children get the last word) will result in the result you describe (it will be better for the children), or I'm misunderstanding you.

Comment author: wedrifid 02 November 2009 04:01:36PM 2 points [-]

I'm not convinced that the policy you propose

I haven't made a proposal. I've made a statement about who I trust and also rejected 'best for a particular majority group' as a reason that I should personally support a specific brand of coercion.

(children get the last word)

This is different from 'parents can force a child to take psychoactive medications against their will'. In the latter case may be tempted to assign policy for at what age this 'parental right' expires. It would be less than 17. It would also apply to a far smaller set of situations than that for which psychoactive medication may legally be offered or recommended to or by the parents.

Comment author: DanArmak 02 November 2009 05:57:56PM *  3 points [-]

Or is it that you only emphathise with smart children, not with stupid children ?

Yes. Certainly. For the sake of argument, why would anyone do otherwise?