carey comments on [study] Ego depletion might disappear with age - Less Wrong

8 Post author: Gabriel 15 September 2012 01:32PM

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Comment author: carey 27 September 2012 06:47:45AM *  1 point [-]

I think a more distinctly virtue ethicist way of putting it is that they don't do slightly bad things because that would condition them to have bad dispositions, or to be bad people, something that is intrinsically disvaluable.

People who avoid doing slightly bad things to prevent instilling unhelpful habits, and to prevent themselves from bringing about future harm are (roughly) global utilitarians.

Comment author: MixedNuts 27 September 2012 09:02:52AM 0 points [-]

I'm such a utilitarian, I don't understand the difference. What's a bad person with bad dispositions, if not someone who does bad things?

Comment author: TheOtherDave 27 September 2012 03:03:12PM 1 point [-]

What's a bad person with bad dispositions, if not someone who does bad things?

Well, in practice most of us do make these sorts of judgments. We don't think a bad person stops being a bad person when we imprison them, for example, even if they are thereafter unable to do bad things and therefore don't. Which suggests that we have some notion of a bad person who isn't doing bad things.

This may not be justified, but I'd be very surprised if it were so alien to you that you don't understand it.