FAWS comments on Metacontrarian Metaethics - Less Wrong
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Comments (75)
I think torture v. dust specks and similar problems can be illuminated by flipping them around and examining them from the perspective of the potential victims. Given a choice between getting a dust speck in the eye with probability 1 or a 1-in-3^^^^^3 chance of being tortured, I suspect the vast majority of individuals will actually opt for the dust speck, and I don't think this is just insensitivity to the scope of 3^^^^^3. Dust specks are such a trivial inconvenience that people generally don't choose to do any of the easy things they could do to minimize the chances of getting one (e.g. regularly dusting their environment, wearing goggles, etc.) On the other hand, most people would do anything to stop being tortured, up to and including suicide if the torture has no apparent end point. The difference here is arguably not expressible as a finite number.
Pardon me, I have to go flush my cornea.
Nope, unless they have an arbitrary discontinuity in their valuation of harm it's really just scope insensitivy, 3^^^^^3 is that big. Quibbling about a few orders of magnitude of their caring about dust specks ("dust specks" just means the smallest harm they care about at all) and torture is a waste of time, they could consider torture a billion times worse than they do and it wouldn't change anything.
It's another matter to volunteer to be dust-specked to save someone from torture, the personal satisfaction from having done so might very well outweigh the inconvenience. But if you choose for them and they never learn about it they don't get that satisfaction.