gjm comments on On Caring - Less Wrong

99 Post author: So8res 15 October 2014 01:59AM

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Comment author: shminux 08 October 2014 09:57:08PM 6 points [-]

...Slow deep breath... Ignore inflammatory and judgmental comments... Exhale slowly... Resist the urge to downvote... OK, I'm good.

First, as usual, TheOtherDave has already put it better than I could.

Maybe to elaborate just a bit.

First, almost everyone cares about the survival of the human race as a terminal goal. Very few have the infamous 'apres nous le deluge' attitude. It seems neither abstract nor arbitrary to me. I want my family, friends and their descendants to have a bright and long-lasting future, and it is predicated on the humanity in general having one.

Second, a good life and a bright future for the people I care about does not necessarily require me to care about the wellbeing of everyone on Earth. So I only get mildly and non-scalably sad when bad stuff happen to them. Other people, including you, care a lot. Good for them.

Unlike you (and probably Eliezer), I do not tell other people what they should care about, and I get annoyed at those who think their morals are better than mine. And I certainly support any steps to stop people from actively making other people's lives worse, be it abusing them, telling them whom to marry or how much and what cause to donate to. But other than that, it's up to them. Live and let live and such.

Hope this helps you understand where I am coming from. If you decide to reply, please consider doing it in a thoughtful and respectful manner this time.

Comment author: gjm 08 October 2014 11:33:34PM 10 points [-]

inflammatory and judgmental comments

It seems to me that when you explicitly make your own virtue or lack thereof a topic of discussion, and challenge readers in so many words to "call [you] heartless", you should not then complain of someone else's "inflammatory and judgmental comments" when they take you up on the offer.

And it doesn't seem to me that Hedonic_Treader's response was particularly thoughtless or disrespectful.

(For what it's worth, I don't think your comments indicate that you're heartless.)