TobyBartels comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 6 - Less Wrong

6 Post author: Unnamed 27 November 2010 08:25AM

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Comment author: TobyBartels 13 December 2010 03:54:27AM *  2 points [-]

[Obsolete material has been moved to the bottom.]

It's worth breaking (1) up into two parts:

  • To keep those specific criminals from harming society.
  • To deter other criminals.

None of this affects your main point much: that in any case #3 is very important to Harry. (So I vote you up regardless.)

[Obsolete material follows.]

You ask what's the purpose of punishment, and one of your answers is punishment. I have two hypotheses towards what you actually meant:

What's the purpose of imprisonment? 2. Punishment.

and

What's the purpose of punishment? 2. Revenge.

Did you mean one of these, and if so then which?

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 13 December 2010 09:42:39AM 4 points [-]

I'm pretty sure that one of the common purposes of punishment is to make the people who are imposing it feel better. This may or may not be a glitch by some utilitarian standards.

Comment author: TobyBartels 13 December 2010 02:42:13PM 1 point [-]

This is what I meant by ‘revenge’, although wedifrid (in your comment's sibling) seems to have interpreted that differently.

Comment author: wedrifid 13 December 2010 04:03:02AM *  2 points [-]

It's also worth breaking (1) up into two parts:

Further, it is worth breaking up (2. Revenge) into two parts:

  • To deter other criminals.
  • So that you are the kind of person that other criminals, given mind reading instincts far more advanced than your ability to adapt your emotional responses, would not have f@#ed with in the first place.
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