Alejandro1 comments on [Poll] Less Wrong and Mainstream Philosophy: How Different are We? - Less Wrong

38 Post author: Jayson_Virissimo 26 September 2012 12:25PM

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Comment author: Alejandro1 26 September 2012 04:28:24PM 14 points [-]

Other: This is a not-very-interesting definitional question as to exactly which kind of mental states should be counted as "sincerely making a moral judgement".

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 26 September 2012 10:45:49PM 9 points [-]

General defense of the above type of reply: Voting "Other" on questions that seem to you confused or seem to turn on irrelevant matters of small definitions, rather than making up a definition and running with it, etcetera, is probably a good barometer of LW-vs.-philosophy opinion.

The subject matter of humanity::morality is a mathematical object which Clippy could calculate, if it ever had any reason to do so, which it wouldn't, but it could, without being at all motivated to do anything about that. However, if "morality" is being given an agent relative definition then no, whatever you're not motivated to do anything about, even in the slightest, doesn't seem like it should be called Alejandro::morality.

Comment author: thomblake 27 September 2012 04:19:24PM 5 points [-]

Voting "Other" on questions that seem to you confused or seem to turn on irrelevant matters of small definitions, rather than making up a definition and running with it, etcetera, is probably a good barometer of LW-vs.-philosophy opinion.

I doubt it. In my experience, if you allow a "Please specify" answer, philosophers will pick that for practically any distinction.

Comment author: [deleted] 27 September 2012 02:49:47AM 4 points [-]

Voting "Other" on questions that seem to you confused or seem to turn on irrelevant matters of small definitions, rather than making up a definition and running with it, etcetera, is probably a good barometer of LW-vs.-philosophy opinion.

It is, at any rate, if you have some evidence that philosophers (professional? historical? what?) make up definitions and run with them when they don't understand a question.

Otherwise, it's probably a very, very bad barometer.

Comment author: Nisan 27 September 2012 11:12:26AM 0 points [-]

I agree with this, even though I voted "externalism".