TimFreeman comments on On Being Okay with the Truth - Less Wrong

33 Post author: lukeprog 02 May 2011 12:17AM

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Comment author: TimFreeman 29 May 2012 03:57:36AM *  0 points [-]

I would expect that peer pressure can make people stop doing evil things (either by force, or by changing their cost-benefit calculation of evil acts). Objective morality, or rather a definition of morality consistent within the group can help organize efficient peer pressure.

So in a conversation between a person A who believes in objective morality and a person B who does not, a possible motive for A is to convince onlookers by any means possible that objective morality exists. Convincing B is not particularly important, since effective peer pressure merely requires having enough people on board and not having any particular individual on board. In those conversations, I always had the role of B, and I assumed, perhaps mistakenly, that A's primary goal was to persuade me since A was talking to me. Thank you for the insight.

Comment author: wedrifid 29 May 2012 08:47:12AM 0 points [-]

So in a conversation between a person A who believes in objective morality and a person B who does not, a possible motive for A is to convince onlookers by any means possible that objective morality exists.

"Any means possible" is a euphemism for "really big stick"!