Alicorn comments on More art, less stink: Taking the PU out of PUA - Less Wrong

66 Post author: XFrequentist 10 September 2010 12:25AM

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Comment author: Alicorn 12 September 2010 12:41:27PM 4 points [-]

"Godshatter" is a fairly strong claim to make about a piece of psychology; for one thing, it would seem to require human universality.

I've met people who don't like candy. Does that mean that taste for sweets isn't a manifestation of the adaptation execution for seeking high-energy food?

Comment author: simplicio 12 September 2010 09:16:47PM *  8 points [-]

I've met people who don't like candy. Does that mean that taste for sweets isn't a manifestation of the adaptation execution for seeking high-energy food?

Ever met somebody who doesn't like sugar at all?

More seriously,

(1) Claiming that the preferences of female westerners living circa 2010 about sex, are all or mostly innate, is a huge claim - and probably false.

(2) Even if true, it's not clear that innate preferences are automatically ethically unquestionable (more technically, two terminal values may conflict). For example, as someone who has a wonderful relationship with their stepfather, I'm very glad he isn't hung up on the fact that we're genetically unrelated. Most humans care a lot about that.

(3) You still leave yourself open to a nice symmetrical reductio where I mention some nasty male preference about sex, and then play my "godshatter" trump card. I agree with kompo that that argument is way too Fully General.

I will also agree with you that criticizing the preferences of a gender or of an individual, has political & social consequences that are potentially ugly. I suggest that this means we need to work harder conversationally, not ban or severely circumscribe the topic.

Comment author: Alicorn 12 September 2010 09:38:21PM 0 points [-]

I'm exiting this thread now.

Comment author: Gabriel 12 September 2010 07:18:43PM 2 points [-]

Have you met a culture that doesn't like candy?

Comment author: Alicorn 12 September 2010 07:26:42PM 3 points [-]

I haven't met many cultures.