MugaSofer comments on Humans are utility monsters - Less Wrong

67 Post author: PhilGoetz 16 August 2013 09:05PM

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Comment author: SaidAchmiz 16 August 2013 11:30:19PM 12 points [-]

So here's a question for anyone who thinks the concept of a utility monster is coherent and/or plausible:

The utility monster allegedly derives more utility from whatever than whoever else, or doesn't experience any diminishing returns, etc. etc.

Those are all facts about the utility monster's utility function.

But why should that affect the value of the utility monster's term in my utility function?

In other words: granting that the utility monster experiences arbitrarily large amounts of utility (and granting the even more problematic thesis that experienced utility is intersubjectively comparable)... why should I care?

Comment author: MugaSofer 18 August 2013 10:51:52PM *  2 points [-]

Because you care about other agents' utility. Right? That's what the Utility Monster is meant to be an issue with.