Frank_Hirsch comments on The "Intuitions" Behind "Utilitarianism" - Less Wrong

29 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 28 January 2008 04:29PM

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Comment author: Frank_Hirsch 29 January 2008 10:46:00PM 0 points [-]

Eisegetes: I admit your fourth option did not even enter my mind. I'll try (in a rather ad-hoc way) to dispute this on the grounds of computationalism. To be able to impose an order on conflicting options, it must be possible to reduced the combined expected outcomes (pleasure, displeasure, whatever else) into a single scalar value. Even if they are in some way lexically ordered, we can do this by projecting the lexical options onto non-intersecting intervals. Everything that is morally significant does, by virtue of the definition, enter into this calculus. Everything that doesn't, isn't.
If you feel this does not apply, please help me by elaborating your objection.