We cannot know what information we might need in the future, therefore we must gather as much as we can and preserve all of it. Especially since much (most?) of it cannot be recreated on demand.
That’s not an argument for information as a terminal value since it depends on the consequences of information, but it’s a decent argument for gathering and preserving information.
Not sure. “Inherently good” could mean “good for its own sake, not good for a purpose”, but it seems like it could also mean “by its very nature, it’s (instrumentally) good”. And the fact that you said “gather or preserve” makes me want to come up with a value system that only cares about gathering or only cares about preserving.
I’m not sure one couldn’t find similarly sized semantic holes in anything, but there they are regardless.
I think so. “All information is inherently good” could mean “inherently instrumentally good”, and the fact that you said “gather or preserve” makes me want to come up with a value system that only cares about gathering or only cares about preserving.
Your 3 formulations should be identical. Here’s your argument:
We cannot know what information we might need in the future, therefore we must gather as much as we can and preserve all of it
My first thought when I read this is, Why are we gathering information? The answer? Because we may need it in the future. What will we need it for? Presumably to attain some other (terminal) end, since if information was a terminal end the argument wouldn’t be “we may need it in the future,” it would be “we need it.”
We cannot know what information we might need in the future, therefore we must gather as much as we can and preserve all of it. Especially since much (most?) of it cannot be recreated on demand.
That’s not an argument for information as a terminal value since it depends on the consequences of information, but it’s a decent argument for gathering and preserving information.
If that distinction exists, my three formulations are not identical. Yes?
Not sure. “Inherently good” could mean “good for its own sake, not good for a purpose”, but it seems like it could also mean “by its very nature, it’s (instrumentally) good”. And the fact that you said “gather or preserve” makes me want to come up with a value system that only cares about gathering or only cares about preserving.
I’m not sure one couldn’t find similarly sized semantic holes in anything, but there they are regardless.
I think so. “All information is inherently good” could mean “inherently instrumentally good”, and the fact that you said “gather or preserve” makes me want to come up with a value system that only cares about gathering or only cares about preserving.
Your 3 formulations should be identical. Here’s your argument:
My first thought when I read this is, Why are we gathering information? The answer? Because we may need it in the future. What will we need it for? Presumably to attain some other (terminal) end, since if information was a terminal end the argument wouldn’t be “we may need it in the future,” it would be “we need it.”
Maybe I am just misunderstanding you?