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ChristianKl comments on If you can see the box, you can open the box - Less Wrong Discussion

49 Post author: ThePrussian 26 February 2015 10:36AM

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Comment author: ChristianKl 26 February 2015 05:19:36PM 6 points [-]

Evil, defined as taking pleasure in someone else's unwanted pain, exists.

I don't think that's a good definition of evil. Feeling pleasure for punishing a person who defects from a prisoner dilemma isn't inherently evil.

When look at how clinical psychopaths are "evil" it's more complicated then simple taking pleasure in someone's unwanted pain.

Comment author: Lumifer 26 February 2015 05:23:48PM 2 points [-]

Feeling pleasure for punishing a person who defects from a prisoner dilemma isn't inherently evil.

LOL. I just want to keep this quote as an example of LW ethics... X-D

Comment author: ChristianKl 26 February 2015 05:38:57PM 0 points [-]

Do you disagree with the substance, or only want to remark on the way the statement is made?

Comment author: Lumifer 26 February 2015 05:40:27PM -1 points [-]

I'm not sure there's much substance involved, but I certainly think of humans as Turing complete.

Comment author: ChristianKl 26 February 2015 05:43:23PM 2 points [-]

I think you mixed up two different threads.

Comment author: Lumifer 26 February 2015 05:46:36PM 1 point [-]

Ah, sorry, yes I did.

My amusement at this quote isn't quite at the agree/disagree level, it has more to do with the mindset which produced it.

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 28 February 2015 03:13:15PM 1 point [-]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katja-rowell-md/when-feeding-therapy-becomes-aversion-therapy_b_2951294.html

I think there are people who feel a strong impulse to cause pain. Subjectively, it may seem to them that they simply didn't think of a non-pain-causing method of achieving their other ends. For all I know, at least some of them feel causing pain as a relief of anxiety rather than pleasure.

Also, it's possible to frame just about anything as punishing defection. I've been seeing some indications that a lot of bad behavior is punishing people for claiming more status than they are felt to deserve.

Or, for something milder but closer to showing a terminal value, try this.

I'm not sure about this terminal value thing-- if someone is causing pain because they feel pleasure from it, isn't pleasure the terminal value?

Comment author: ChristianKl 06 March 2015 12:34:55AM 0 points [-]

Also, it's possible to frame just about anything as punishing defection.

The question is always whether a given interpretation is useful.

The economist position that defecting in prisoner dilemmas isn't evil but punishing defectors is evil seems wrongheaded to me.