Z._M._Davis comments on Which Parts Are "Me"? - Less Wrong

30 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 22 October 2008 06:15PM

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Comment author: Z._M._Davis 22 October 2008 11:00:27PM 2 points [-]

"ZM, the question is whether being more reflective makes you less passionate, not so much the absolute level [...]"

But if that were the only issue at hand, then that would generate the prediction that I would be even more unstable (!) if I were less analytical, which is the opposite of what I would have predicted.

Yes, it could possibly be that it is this introspection/reflectivity dichotomy that's tripping me up. A deep conceptual understanding that one's self can be distinct from what-this-brain-is-thinking-and-feeling-right-now does not necessarily imply the ability to draw this distinction consistently and in real time. Maybe successful reflectivity decreases passion, but an awareness of, combined with an inability to reconcile, the morass of conflicting thoughts and desires, only inflames the passions?

Okay, now I'm really confused. I think.