shokwave comments on Rational Justice - Less Wrong

0 Post author: geebee2 09 January 2012 10:05PM

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Comment author: shokwave 10 January 2012 08:05:38AM 0 points [-]

I'm interested in how courts and juries might use rational techniques to arrive at correct decisions on guilt.

If letting the guilty party go free is net positive utility summed over all agents, I desire to let the guilty party go free. If punishing the guilty party is net positive utility summed over all agents, I desire to punish the guilty party. Let me not become attached to "justice-as-punishing-the-guilty" as a terminal goal.

Comment author: wedrifid 10 January 2012 10:09:11AM 2 points [-]

If letting the guilty party go free is net positive utility summed over all agents, I desire to let the guilty party go free. If punishing the guilty party is net positive utility summed over all agents, I desire to punish the guilty party. Let me not become attached to "justice-as-punishing-the-guilty" as a terminal goal.

To the extent that shokwave has the power to enforce this will I desire to thwart and cripple shokwave's influence.

It's a step up from the most primitive 'happiness' utilitarians but only a small one. It is a 'Justice' function that merely influences to whatever extent possible in the direction of tiling the universe with as many agents as possible with as much 'utility' as possible.