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

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

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Comment author: Eisegetes 31 January 2008 07:07:00PM 0 points [-]

Still haven't heard from even one proponent of TORTURE who would be willing to pick up the blowtorch themselves. Kind of casts doubt on the degree to which you really believe what you are asserting.

I mean, perhaps it is the case that although picking up the blowtorch is ethically obligatory, you are too squeamish to do what is required. But that should be overrideable by a strong enough ethical imperative. (I don't know if I would pick up the blowtorch to save the life of one stranger, for instance, but I would feel compelled to do it to save the population of New York City). So: that should be solveable, in your system, by using a bigger number of people than 3^^^3. Right? So make it a g64 (= graham's number,) of people getting dust-specked.

Will anyone on this board forthrightly assert that they would pick up the blowtorch to keep specks out of the eyes of g64 people? Not "I might do it," but "yes, I would do it," in the same sense where I can say with a lot of confidence that I would torture one individual if I was certain that doing so would save millions of lives.

And if you wouldn't, would you do it in the New York City example?

Eliezer?