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wedrifid comments on The Preference Utilitarian’s Time Inconsistency Problem - Less Wrong
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Let's say I agree with the specific statements, which would be unexpected by the context if I were a utilitarian. I wouldn't dream of accusing you of being a utilitarian given how much of an insult that would be given my position.
"The universe should be made to maximise my utility (best satisfy my preferences over possible states of the universe) " is my moral philosophy. From that foundation altruism and cooperation considerations come into play. Except that some people define that as not a moral philosophy.
That seems to be this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_egoism - which I would classify as some kind of moral philosophy.
It seems to be much more biologically realistic than utilitariaism. Utilitarianism appears to be an ethical system based on clearly signalling how unselfish and nice you are. The signal seems somewhat tarnished by being pretty unbelievable, though. Do these people really avoid nepotism and favouring themselves? Or are they kidding themselves about their motives in the hope of deceiving others?
It sounds silly and arbitrary when you discharge the references:
"The universe should be made to maximise widrifid's utility (best satisfy widrifid's preferences over possible states of the universe)"
Why not replace "widfirid" with "amcknight"? The fact that you happen to be yourself doesn't sound like a good enough reason.
Is there some reason why moral philosophy can't be arbitrary?
Yes. If you want your beliefs to pay rent, then you need to choose between features of reality rather than simply choose arbitrarily. Is there anything else that you believe arbitrarily? Why make an exception for moral philosophy? Reminds me of Status Quo Bias or keeping faith even after learning about other religions. Can you name a relevant difference?
That sounds like a good description of moralizing to me!