wedrifid comments on Rebasing Ethics - Less Wrong

-9 Post author: Shalmanese 15 December 2009 01:56PM

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Comment author: wedrifid 15 December 2009 03:42:44PM 1 point [-]

Let me start off with a mild example: Tipping.

Altruism evolved in an era of small tribes where individual altruistic acts could be remembered & paid back.

Tipping isn't altruism. It is even less about altruism in those countries (not here) where it a social obligation.

Now that we live in a large, anonymous society, there are many times when altruism doesn't pay. Unless you are with friends or a frequent diner at a restaurant or bar, the correct moral move is to stiff the waiter on the tip.

When the potential complications are assumed away it is a rational move. That doesn't make it moral. It's a completely different concept.

If you're traveling somewhere alone, you should universally fail to tip as you're not likely to ever return there.

Except, of course, that you may be beaten or arrested if you are not careful.