Torello comments on Useful Personality Tests - Less Wrong

9 Post author: seez 11 February 2014 11:18AM

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Comment author: Torello 13 February 2014 12:24:55AM *  0 points [-]

if you have a technique for magically making people not racist

Pinker points to some non-magical causes: greater commerce, greater literacy, larger political and military coalitions. Essentially, greater exposure allowing people to view other people as useful (instrumentally in many cases), rational beings. He points to how much progress inter-racial relationships and gay relationships have made in acceptance; it wasn't due to people moving away from the people they didn't like. The relevant point is that people don't feel those biases as strongly any longer.

The point is to overcome bias, not to pretend it isn't there

I really like the way you put this.

Rationalists should win

I guess I think deliberately acting on implicit racist bias doesn't seem like a win for a particular rationalist or rationalism generally