SarahC comments on Newcomb's Problem and Regret of Rationality - Less Wrong

64 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 31 January 2008 07:36PM

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Comment author: [deleted] 04 November 2010 01:32:47AM 3 points [-]

An analogy occurs to me about "regret of rationality."

Sometimes you hear complaints about the Geneva Convention during wartime. "We have to restrain ourselves, but our enemies fight dirty. They're at an advantage because they don't have our scruples!" Now, if you replied, "So are you advocating scrapping the Geneva Convention?" you might get the response "No way. It's a good set of rules, on balance." And I don't think this is an incoherent position: he approves of the rule, but regrets the harm it causes in this particular situation.

Rules, almost by definition, are inconvenient in some situations. Even a rule that's good on balance, a rule you wouldn't want to discard, will sometimes have negative consequences. Otherwise there would be no need to make it a rule! "Don't fool yourself into believing falsehoods" is a good rule. In some situations it may hurt you, when a delusion might have been happier. The hurt is real, even if it's outbalanced in the long run and in expected value. The regret is real. It's just local.