NancyLebovitz comments on If you can see the box, you can open the box - Less Wrong

49 Post author: ThePrussian 26 February 2015 10:36AM

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Comment author: NancyLebovitz 28 February 2015 03:13:15PM 1 point [-]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katja-rowell-md/when-feeding-therapy-becomes-aversion-therapy_b_2951294.html

I think there are people who feel a strong impulse to cause pain. Subjectively, it may seem to them that they simply didn't think of a non-pain-causing method of achieving their other ends. For all I know, at least some of them feel causing pain as a relief of anxiety rather than pleasure.

Also, it's possible to frame just about anything as punishing defection. I've been seeing some indications that a lot of bad behavior is punishing people for claiming more status than they are felt to deserve.

Or, for something milder but closer to showing a terminal value, try this.

I'm not sure about this terminal value thing-- if someone is causing pain because they feel pleasure from it, isn't pleasure the terminal value?

Comment author: ChristianKl 06 March 2015 12:34:55AM 0 points [-]

Also, it's possible to frame just about anything as punishing defection.

The question is always whether a given interpretation is useful.

The economist position that defecting in prisoner dilemmas isn't evil but punishing defectors is evil seems wrongheaded to me.