NihilCredo comments on Metacontrarian Metaethics - Less Wrong

2 Post author: Will_Newsome 20 May 2011 05:36AM

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Comment author: Prismattic 20 May 2011 11:45:15PM *  9 points [-]

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.

Comment author: NihilCredo 21 May 2011 10:21:27PM *  6 points [-]

FWIW, I would take the 1 in 3^^^^^3 chance of torture over a single dust speck*, but I would give 3^^^^^3 people a dust speck each than subject one person to torture, because the world with the dust specks looks nicer to me than the world with the torture. (I find fairness to be aesthetically pleasant.)

* Though since I feel like being pedantic, the - irrational - momentary anxiety of rolling the torture die would be a worse feeling than a dust speck, which in practice would make the dust speck the better choice.

Comment author: Kevin 26 May 2011 08:03:29AM *  0 points [-]

That's not a world with dust specks, that's millions upon millions of universes cycling endlessly of dust specks.