Will_Newsome comments on Our Phyg Is Not Exclusive Enough - Less Wrong

25 [deleted] 14 April 2012 09:08PM

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Comment author: Will_Newsome 17 April 2012 12:10:10PM *  2 points [-]

But there is nothing even like that for morality. In fact, when a moral statement seems universal under sufficient reflection, it stops being a moral statement and becomes simply rational, like cooperating in the Prisoner's Dilemma when playing against the right opponents.

What is the distinction you are making between rationality and morality, then? What makes you think the former won't be swallowed up by the latter (or vice versa!) in the limit of infinite reflection?

(Sorta drunk, apologies for conflating conflation of rationality and morality with lack of conflation of rationality and morality, probabilistically-shouldly.)

ETA: I don't understand how my comments can be so awesome when I'm obviously so freakin' drunk. ;P . Maybe I should get drunk all the freakin' time. Or study Latin all the freakin' time, or read the Bible all the freakin' time, or ponder how often people are obviously wrong when they use the phrase "all the freakin' time" (let alone "freakin[']") (especially when they use the phrase "all the freakin' time" all the freakin' time, naturally-because-reflexively)....

Comment author: gRR 17 April 2012 12:37:43PM 0 points [-]

What is the distinction you are making between rationality and morality, then? What makes you think the former won't be swallowed up by the latter (or vice versa!) in the limit of infinite reflection?

That was the distinction - one is universal, another arbitrary, in the limit of infinite reflection. I suppose, "there is nothing arbitrary" is a valid (consistent) position, but I don't see any evidence for it.

Comment author: Will_Newsome 17 April 2012 12:47:28PM 1 point [-]

Interesting! You seem to be a moral realist (cognitivist, whatever) and an a-theist. (I suspect this is the typical LessWrong position, even if the typical LessWronger isn't as coherent as you.) I'll take note that I should pester you and/or take care to pay attention to your opinions (comments) more in the future. Also, I thank you for showing me what the reasoning process would be that would lead one to that position. (And I think that position has a very good chance of being correct—in the absence of justifiably-ignorable inside-view (non-communicable) evidence I myself hold.)

(It's probably obvious that I'm pretty damn drunk. (Interesting that alcohol can be just as effective as LSD or cannabis. (Still not as effective as nitrous oxide or DMT.)))

Comment author: gRR 17 April 2012 01:30:15PM 1 point [-]

Cognitivist yes, moral realist, no. IIUC, it's EY's position ("morality is a computation"), so naturally it's the typical LessWrong position.

in the absence of justifiably-ignorable inside-view (non-communicable) evidence I myself hold

Universally valid statements must have universally-available evidence, no?

Interesting that alcohol can be just as effective as LSD or cannabis

Really nothing like LSD, which makes it impossible to write anything at all, at least for me.