Doesn’t look nice, but then most things dialed to 11 don’t look nice.
Let’s look at analogous realistic examples.
The example I gave is not just a realistic, but a real example, if as posited upthread, people are resisting having their loved ones pursue cryonics because it denies them a sense of closure.
What does or does not qualify as an inappropriate level of self-privilege is of course subject to debate, but when framed in those terms I think such a position would be widely agreed to be beyond it.
a real example, if as posited upthread, people are resisting having their loved ones pursue cryonics because it denies them a sense of closure.
Well, one person. And not “resist”, but “highly uncomfortable with”. And “may (tentatively) be part of the underlying objection”. You are adding lots of certainty which is entirely absent from the OP.
I am still interested in your normative position, though. So let’s get back to cryonics. Alice and Bob are a monogamous pair. Bob dies, is cryopreserved. Alice is monogamous by nature and young, she feels it’s possible that Bob could be successfully thawed during her lifetime.
What, in your opinion, is the ethical thing for Alice to do? Is it OK for her to remarry?
What, in your opinion, is the ethical thing for Alice to do?
Use some clever rationalization and remarry. More rationally, she should be aware that the probability of Bob being resurrected during her lifetime is pretty low.
I don’t think that’s enough information for me to return a single specific piece of advice. What does Alice think Bob would think of her getting married in his absence were he to be brought back at a later date? How likely does she think it is that he’d be brought back in her lifetime? Does she think that she’d still want to be in a relationship with him if she waited and he was brought back after, say, forty years? Etc.
There are certainly trends in relationship behavior which can constitute actionable information, but I think the solution to any specific relationship problem is likely to be idiosyncratic.
What does Alice think Bob would think of her getting married in his absence were he to be brought back at a later date?
Bob also was monogamous. Alice is pretty sure Bob wouldn’t like it.
How likely does she think it is that he’d be brought back in her lifetime?
Alice is uncertain. She thinks it’s possible, she is not sure how likely it is.
Does she think that she’d still want to be in a relationship with him if she waited and he was brought back after, say, forty years?
She has no idea what she’ll want in 40 years.
the solution to any specific relationship problem is likely to be idiosyncratic.
So, are there are any general guidelines, you think? Remember, the claim we are talking about is that the desire for closure is extremely selfish and “suboptimal”.
So, are there are any general guidelines, you think?
Well, I suspect that anyone preserved with current technology is probably not coming back, while this may not be the case for people preserved in the future given different technological resources, so I’d suggest treating death as probably permanent in cases of present cryonics. So as a guideline, I’d suggest that both those slated to be cryonically preserved and their survivors treat the procedure as offering a low probability that the subject is put into suspended animation rather than permanent death.
How to deal with that situation is up to individual values, but I think that for most people, refusing to seek another partner would result in an expected decrease in future happiness.
The example I gave is not just a realistic, but a real example, if as posited upthread, people are resisting having their loved ones pursue cryonics because it denies them a sense of closure.
What does or does not qualify as an inappropriate level of self-privilege is of course subject to debate, but when framed in those terms I think such a position would be widely agreed to be beyond it.
Well, one person. And not “resist”, but “highly uncomfortable with”. And “may (tentatively) be part of the underlying objection”. You are adding lots of certainty which is entirely absent from the OP.
I am still interested in your normative position, though. So let’s get back to cryonics. Alice and Bob are a monogamous pair. Bob dies, is cryopreserved. Alice is monogamous by nature and young, she feels it’s possible that Bob could be successfully thawed during her lifetime.
What, in your opinion, is the ethical thing for Alice to do? Is it OK for her to remarry?
Use some clever rationalization and remarry. More rationally, she should be aware that the probability of Bob being resurrected during her lifetime is pretty low.
I don’t think that’s enough information for me to return a single specific piece of advice. What does Alice think Bob would think of her getting married in his absence were he to be brought back at a later date? How likely does she think it is that he’d be brought back in her lifetime? Does she think that she’d still want to be in a relationship with him if she waited and he was brought back after, say, forty years? Etc.
There are certainly trends in relationship behavior which can constitute actionable information, but I think the solution to any specific relationship problem is likely to be idiosyncratic.
Bob also was monogamous. Alice is pretty sure Bob wouldn’t like it.
Alice is uncertain. She thinks it’s possible, she is not sure how likely it is.
She has no idea what she’ll want in 40 years.
So, are there are any general guidelines, you think? Remember, the claim we are talking about is that the desire for closure is extremely selfish and “suboptimal”.
Well, I suspect that anyone preserved with current technology is probably not coming back, while this may not be the case for people preserved in the future given different technological resources, so I’d suggest treating death as probably permanent in cases of present cryonics. So as a guideline, I’d suggest that both those slated to be cryonically preserved and their survivors treat the procedure as offering a low probability that the subject is put into suspended animation rather than permanent death.
How to deal with that situation is up to individual values, but I think that for most people, refusing to seek another partner would result in an expected decrease in future happiness.