orthonormal comments on Against Cryonics & For Cost-Effective Charity - Less Wrong

10 Post author: multifoliaterose 10 August 2010 03:59AM

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Comment author: orthonormal 10 August 2010 03:12:17PM 9 points [-]

If the recipient is doing a lot to help other people then the cost of the heart transplant is easily outweighed by the recipients' productivity.

So, then, should prospective heart transplant recipients have to prove that they will do enough with their remaining life to benefit humanity, in order for the operation to be approved?

I think you're holding cryonics to a much higher standard than other expenditures.

Comment author: RichardChappell 12 August 2010 08:34:46AM 1 point [-]

should prospective heart transplant recipients have to prove that they will do enough with their remaining life to benefit humanity, in order for the operation to be approved?

Distinguish personal morality from public enforcement. In a liberal society our personal purchases should (typically) not require anyone else's permission or "approval". But it still might be the case that it would be a better decision to choose the more selfless option, even if you have a right to be selfish. That seems just as true of traditional medical expenditures as it does of cryonics.