LucasSloan comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 2 - Less Wrong

13 Post author: dclayh 01 August 2010 10:58PM

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Comment author: LucasSloan 28 August 2010 08:08:55PM 2 points [-]

I'm not sure, but I wouldn't make one and would work to prevent one's creation. On the one hand, death is an intrinsic evil, unlike mere drudgery. On the other hand, I support the right to self terminate.

Comment author: Pavitra 28 August 2010 09:16:13PM 3 points [-]

death is an intrinsic evil

Have you ever closed an application on your computer? What distinguishes a person from any other computation, and why does that particular distinction carry so much moral weight?

Comment author: LucasSloan 29 August 2010 12:27:26AM 4 points [-]

What distinguishes a person from any other computation

A person is reflectively self aware.

and why does that particular distinction carry so much moral weight?

Evolution built me to care about humans, and upon reflection, the values I have include non-humans who have features like being reflectively self aware.

Comment author: Pavitra 29 August 2010 12:39:26AM 2 points [-]

Is that what you would want to want, given the option, or is that a lizard-brain instinct that gets in the way of your ability to evaluate what's really the right thing to do?

Comment author: LucasSloan 29 August 2010 05:31:43AM -1 points [-]

upon reflection

Comment author: Pavitra 29 August 2010 06:13:45AM 0 points [-]

I can still interpret that either way. Do you mean that on reflection you realize that you emotionally desire that, or that on reflection you *decide" that that's what's important?

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 29 August 2010 06:36:54AM 1 point [-]

There's also Hayekian arguments-- self-aware agents are apt to accumulate information about their own desires and activities. Systems which allow that information to have an effect seem to be more capable.