gjm comments on Self-serving meta: Whoever keeps block-downvoting me, is there some way to negotiate peace? - Less Wrong
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Comments (281)
Yup.
Doesn't follow. It means that he did it knowing it would hurt Eugine or else is not socially competent. But a thing can have predictable consequences that are not reasons for your doing it. A medically competent person knows that major surgery causes pain and inconvenience and risk, but that doesn't mean that someone medically competent undergoing or recommending major surgery must be doing it to bring about the pain and inconvenience and risk. They're doing it for some other benefit, and putting up with those unfortunately unavoidable side effects.
(I don't know ialdabaoth. It is possible that s/he did intend to hurt Eugine. But I don't see any good evidence for that, nor any grounds for assuming it.)
Well, you got me here. I think the expected positive value of the action is so low that using that as justification for the highly probable negative value seems kinda weird. Surgeons don't usually cut people up just because it might have some benefit.