Gram_Stone comments on Rationality Quotes Thread September 2015 - Less Wrong

3 Post author: elharo 02 September 2015 09:25AM

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Comment author: Gram_Stone 30 September 2015 03:59:06PM 0 points [-]

Talking about God here is probably a distraction, but if the universe is good, then its cause or causes should also be good.

Actually, you're affirming the consequent. If the cause of the universe is good, then the universe will be good. But if we observe that the universe is good, then we cannot infer that the cause of the universe is necessarily good.

Classic example:

If I have the flu, then I have a sore throat. I have a sore throat. Therefore, I have the flu.

Comment author: entirelyuseless 01 October 2015 12:25:54PM 1 point [-]

Affirming the consequent is valid in the terms of the evidence relation. In other words, the fact that I have a sore throat is evidence that I have the flu, although not proof.

In the same way, the universe being good is evidence that the cause is good. If up to that point, we assumed that the cause was entirely neutral, our best estimate will now be that the cause is good.

Comment author: Gram_Stone 01 October 2015 07:03:46PM -1 points [-]

That's true, but there are other equally explanatory hypotheses that don't involve good causes, so at the very least, the fact that the universe is good (although I would contest or at least qualify that claim) is not evidence either way. It doesn't help you figure out which possible world you're in.