Eugine_Nier comments on Rationality Quotes July 2012 - Less Wrong

3 Post author: RobertLumley 04 July 2012 12:29AM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (466)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 12 July 2012 03:42:42AM 0 points [-]

Prediction: If you were forced to consider the situation in near mode, e.g., if you had something to protect that was being threatened, you wouldn't be arguing that preferences are relative to the individual, but why the other person was acting amorally.

Comment author: DanArmak 12 July 2012 06:58:01AM 0 points [-]

If I were in a crisis, I would be arguing whatever was most likely to convince the other person. If the other person was a moral realist - and most people instinctively are if they never really thought about the issue - then I would argue moral realism. And if the other person was religious - as again most people instinctively are - then I would argue about god. In neither case is that evidence that I believe in moral realism, or in gods; I would just be choosing the most effective argument.

And even if I did believe in moral realism, or the fact that many others do - that is not strong evidence for moral realism itself, because it is explained by evolutionary reasons that made us feel this way. Valid evidence is not that people believe one way or another, but the reasons they can explicitly articulate for that belief. When you observe that most or even all people behave like moral realists under pressure, that is a fact about people, not about moral realism.