Unknown comments on Circular Altruism - Less Wrong

40 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 22 January 2008 06:00PM

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Comment author: Unknown 23 January 2008 01:17:50PM 1 point [-]

Ben: the poll scenario might persuade me if all the people actually believed that the situation with the dust specks, as a whole, were better than the torture situation. But this isn't the case, or we couldn't be having this discussion. Each person merely thinks that he wouldn't mind suffering a speck as an individual in order to save someone from torture.

As for a speck registering zero on your torture scale: what about being tied down with your eyes taped open, and then a handful of sand thrown in your face? Does that register zero too? The point would be to take the minimum which is on the same scale, and proceed from there.

As for me, I don't have any specific torture scale. I do have a pain scale, and dust specks and torture are both on it.