shminux comments on Jews and Nazis: a version of dust specks vs torture - Less Wrong

16 Post author: shminux 07 September 2012 08:15PM

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Comment author: Raemon 07 September 2012 08:22:51PM 9 points [-]

The assumption "their terminal values are fixed to hate group X" is something akin to "this group is not human, but aliens with an arbitrary set of values that happen to mostly coincide with traditional human values, but with one exception." Which is not terribly different from "These alien race enjoys creativity and cleverness and love and other human values... but also eats babies."

Discussion of human morality only makes sense when you're talking about humans. Yes, arbitrary groups X and Y may, left to their own devices, find it rational to do all kinds of things we find heinous, but then you're moving away from morality and into straight up game theory.

Comment author: shminux 07 September 2012 08:41:55PM 3 points [-]

Are you saying that immutable terminal values is a non-human trait?

Comment author: novalis 07 September 2012 09:47:36PM *  6 points [-]

With respect to group-based hatred, it seems that there have been changes in both directions over the course of human history (and change not entirely caused by the folks with the old views dying off). So, yeah, I think your Nazis aren't entirely human.