Lightwave comments on What makes us think _any_ of our terminal values aren't based on a misunderstanding of reality? - Less Wrong

17 Post author: bokov 25 September 2013 11:09PM

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Comment author: lmm 27 September 2013 06:30:23PM 1 point [-]

But people's values changes over time, and that's a good thing. For example in medieval/ancient times people didn't value animals' lives and well-being (as much) as we do today. If a medieval person tells you "well we value what we value, I don't value animals, what more is there to say?", would you agree with him and let him go on to burning cats for entertainment, or would you try to convince him that he should actually care about animals' well-being?

Is that an actual change in values? Or is it merely a change of facts - much greater availability of entertainment, much less death and cruelty in the world, and the knowledge that humans and animals are much more similar than it would have seemed to the medieval worldview?

Comment author: Lightwave 27 September 2013 11:06:12PM *  0 points [-]

Well whether it's a "real" change may be besides the point if you put it this way. Our situation and our knowledge are also changing, and maybe our behavior should also change. If personal identity and/or consciousness are not fundamental, how should we value those in a world where any mind-configurations can be created and copied at will?

Comment author: lmm 29 September 2013 12:40:54PM 0 points [-]

So there's a view that a rational entity should never change its values. If we accept that, then any entity with different values from present-me seems to be in some sense not a "natural successor" of present-me, even if it remembers being me and shares all my values. There seems to be a qualitative distinction between an entity like that and upload-me, even if there are several branching upload-mes that have undergone various experiences and would no doubt have different views on concrete issues than present-me.

But that's just an intuition, and I don't know whether it can be made rigorous.

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