MugaSofer comments on Humans are utility monsters - Less Wrong

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

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Comment author: MugaSofer 26 August 2013 03:09:33PM -1 points [-]

This argument doesn't help you. The problem is that the original (implied) claim (that the positions of city-dwellers and farmers happen because vegetarianism is good but people oppose it for irrational reasons) is unfalsifiable: if city-dwellers favor it and farmers oppose it, that happens because vegetarianism is good; if city-dwellers oppose it and farmers favor it, that still happens because vegetarianism is good.

Your explanation in terms of two axes is not wrong, but that explanation implies that the positions of farmers and city-dwellers can go either way regardless of whether vegetarianism is good.

What? No. Where are you getting that from?

In other words, your explanation doesn't save the original claim, and in fact demolishes it instead.

Which original claim? I just pointed out that you have to take bias into account.