mtraven comments on Congratulations to Paris Hilton - Less Wrong

-2 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 19 October 2007 12:31AM

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Comment author: mtraven 21 October 2007 05:02:00AM 0 points [-]

I have to admire a blog that can go from Paris Hilton to the metaphysics of morality in only a few short hops.
Richard said The first half of physics, the part we know, asks how reality can be bent towards goals humans already have.
That's engineering, not physics. Then later you say:
I maintain that the goals that people now advocate as the goal that trumps all other goals are not deserving of our loyalty and a search most be conducted for a goal that is so deserving. (The search should use essentially the same intellectual skills as physicists.)
While your goal of finding better goals is admirable, I can't see that the skills of physicists are particularly applicable. Traditionally philosophers and religions claim to have that kind of expertise. You can view religion as a technology for enabling people not to think too hard about ultimate goals, for better or worse. Often such thinking is unproductive.