TobyBartels comments on Desirable Dispositions and Rational Actions - Less Wrong

13 Post author: RichardChappell 17 August 2010 03:20AM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (180)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: utilitymonster 17 August 2010 02:08:19PM 0 points [-]

You can't have a disposition to act in a certain way without counter-factually acting that way. You can't counter-factually act a certain way without actually acting that way in a situation indistinguishable form the counter-factual.

What is the relevance of this? Are you using this argument? (See comment above.)*

  1. It is impossible to have the one-boxing disposition and then two-box.
  2. Ought implies can.
  3. Therefore, it is false that someone with a one-boxing disposition ought to two-box.

If that isn't your argument, what is the force of the quoted text?

At any rate, it seems like a bad argument, since analogous arguments will entail that whenever you have some decisive disposition, it is false that you ought to act differently. (It will entail, for instance, NOT[people who have a decisive loss aversion disposition should follow expected utility theory].)

Notice that an analogous argument also cuts the other way:

  1. It is impossible for someone with the two-boxing disposition to one-box.
  2. Ought implies can.
  3. Therefore, it is false that someone with the two-boxing disposition ought to one box.

*I made a similar comment above, but I don't know how to link to it. Help appreciated.

Comment author: TobyBartels 18 August 2010 06:36:45AM 1 point [-]

I made a similar comment above, but I don't know how to link to it. Help appreciated.

Type

(See [comment above](http://lesswrong.com/lw/2lg/desirable_dispositions_and_rational_actions/2gg4?c=1).)

to get

(See comment above.)

(I got the URI <http://lesswrong.com/lw/2lg/desirable_dispositions_and_rational_actions/2gg4?c=1> from the Permalink on your comment above.)

Comment author: utilitymonster 18 August 2010 07:14:59AM 0 points [-]

Thanks.