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Vladimir_Nesov comments on Less Wrong Rationality and Mainstream Philosophy - Less Wrong
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Eliezer and I, over the course of our long discussion, have come to some understanding of what would constitute useful. Though, Philosophy_Tutor suggested that Eliezer taboo his sense of "useful" before trying to declare every item on my list as useless.
Whether or not I can provide a set of necessary and sufficient conditions for "useful", I've repeatedly pointed out that:
Several works from mainstream philosophy do the same things he has spent a great deal of time doing and advocating on Less Wrong, so if he thinks those works are useless then it would appear he thinks much of what he has done on Less Wrong is uesless.
Quite a few works from mainstream philosophy have been used by him, so presumably he finds them useful.
I can't believe how difficult it is to convince some people that some useful things come out of mainstream philosophy. To me, it's a trivial point. Those resisting this truth keep trying to change the subject and make it about how philosophy is a diseased subject (agreed!), how we shouldn't read Quine (agreed!), how other subjects are more important and useful (agreed!), and so on.
I agree that you've agreed on many specific things. I suggest that the sense of remaining disagreement is currently confused through refusing to taboo "useful". You use one definition, he uses a different one, and there is possibly genuine disagreement in there somewhere, but you won't be able to find it without again switching to more specific discussion.
Also, taboo doesn't work by giving a definition, instead you explain whatever you wanted without using the concept explicitly (so it's always a definition in a specific context).
For example:
Instead of debating this point of the definition (and what constitutes "being used"), consider the questions of whether Eliezer agrees that he was influenced (in any sense) by quite a few works from mainstream philosophy (obviously), whether they provided insights that would've been unavailable otherwise (probably not), whether they happen to already contain some of the same basic insights found elsewhere (yes), whether they originate them (it depends), etc.
It's a long list, not as satisfying as the simple "useful/not", but this is the way to unpack the disagreement. And even if you agree on every fact, his sense of "useful" can disagree with yours.
I'll wait to see if Eliezer really thinks we aren't on the same page about the meaning of 'useful'.
If reflective equilibrium, which plays a central role in Eliezer's plan (CEV) to save humanity, isn't useful, then I will be very surprised, and we will seem to be using different definitions of the term "useful."
Has he repudiated the usefulness of reflective equilibrium (or of the concept, or the term)? I recall that he's used it himself in some of the more recent summaries of CEV.