atucker comments on Morality and relativistic vertigo - Less Wrong

40 Post author: Academian 12 October 2010 02:00AM

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Comment author: Vladimir_M 12 October 2010 08:07:33PM *  7 points [-]

I don't see how this answers my objection. I'll try to restate my main point in a more clear form.

The claim that "'healthy' is not a precisely defined concept, but no one is crazy enough to utter that medicine cannot answer questions of health" is, while superficially plausible, in fact false under the interpretation relevant for this discussion. Namely, the claim is true only for those issues where the concept of "health" is precise and uncontroversial. In situations where the concept of "health" is imprecise and a matter of dispute, there are sane and knowledgeable people who plausibly dispute that medicine can legitimately answer questions of health in those particular situations. Thus, what superficially looks like a lucid analogy is in fact a rhetorical sleight of hand.

(Also, I'd say that by any reasonable measure, questions of health vs. disease are typically much more clear-cut than moral questions. The appearance of coughing or headaches, ceteris paribus, represents an unambiguous reduction of health; on the other hand, even killing requires significant qualifications to be universally recognized as evil. But my main objection stands regardless of whether you agree with this.)

Comment author: atucker 13 October 2010 01:44:58AM 2 points [-]

Its easier to tell that something is unhealthy than if its optimally healthy. Coughing up blood is worse than not doing so, but is good stamina better than increased alertness?

(I'd posit that) Most moral arguments are over if something is immoral or not, and I think that a lot of times those can be related to facts.

Comment author: Mass_Driver 14 October 2010 01:43:13PM 2 points [-]

You're right that people often wonder whether something is moral as if it were a binary question, but they should be concerned about precisely how good or bad various actions or policies are, because all actions have opportunity costs.

It makes little sense to say "it is immoral for teachers to beat schoolchildren" without considering the effects of not beating schoolchildren.