Amanojack comments on What is Metaethics? - Less Wrong

31 Post author: lukeprog 25 April 2011 04:53PM

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Comment author: Amanojack 02 May 2011 02:36:16AM 0 points [-]

I'm fond of including clarification like, "subjective values (values defined in the broadest possible sense, to include even things like your desire to get right with your god, to see other people happy, to not feel guilty, or even to "be good")."

Some ways I've found to dissolve people's language back to subjective utility:

  1. If someone says something is good, right, bad, or wrong, ask, "For what purpose?"

  2. If someone declares something immoral, unjust, unethical, ask, "So what unhappiness will I suffer as a result?"

But use sparingly, because there is a big reason many people resist dissolving this confusion.