That’s one way to look at it; another is to question the unspoken assumption that everyone’s needs deserve equal treatment. Human beings are variable on every measurable dimension, most at least partially heritable, so why not the moral dimension as well?
The fact is, as Yvain elegantly puts it, we really don’t care about the vast majority people except in the abstract and quite a bit of that professed empathy is just a result of trying to sound like a ‘good person’ in a society obsessed with the wellbeing of its underclasses. So if our self-actualization (and that of our in-groups) is already more important to us than the hunger of distant people… why not stop following a moral code we don’t even really believe in and create new values which better match our natures?
(Also, is it just me or is the hyperbolic use of ‘verboten’ incredibly annoying when you know the ‘vee’ is actually a ‘fow’ and thus the German and English words are virtually indistinguishable when spoken?)
I totally agree that utilitarianism is overhyped nonsense, and true values are much more selfish and unsympathetic. That said, given massive power, I think a non-significant fraction of my resources would go to public works projects and not just my throne.
I totally agree that utilitarianism is overhyped nonsense, and true values are much more selfish and unsympathetic. That said, given massive power, I think a non-significant fraction of my resources would go to public works projects and not just my throne.
Exactly; just because you create your own values and live by them doesn’t mean you have to stop helping your neighbor cross the street, or mandate that you start turning cherry blossom trees into biodiesel to power your strip-mining robots. It just means that you have defined your own preferences and aesthetics and act on that knowledge. “Don’t make a future too ugly for you to enjoy it” is as good a maxim as any.
I really like the “maximize awesomeness” idea BTW. It’s very catchy and cuts away a lot of the fat of the issue.
(Also, is it just me or is the hyperbolic use of ‘verboten’ incredibly annoying when you know the ‘vee’ is actually a ‘fow’ and thus the German and English words are virtually indistinguishable when spoken?)
Unless I’m way out of whack with German pronunciation, the stressed vowel in verboten doesn’t sound anything like that in forbidden.
Personally I hear fer-boat-in and fer-bid-in as similar enough that if someone on the street said the former I’d assume they meant the latter and never think twice about it. But even if you’d hear the difference more acutely, I don’t think either of us would think ‘Gestapo!’ the way we would seeing it spelled out.
Edit: Oops, I used lmgtfy instead of tinyurl. Sorry, that was a bookmarks issue not condescension.
See Yvain on how certain ‘dystopias’ only look like ones from a First World person perspective.
That’s one way to look at it; another is to question the unspoken assumption that everyone’s needs deserve equal treatment. Human beings are variable on every measurable dimension, most at least partially heritable, so why not the moral dimension as well?
The fact is, as Yvain elegantly puts it, we really don’t care about the vast majority people except in the abstract and quite a bit of that professed empathy is just a result of trying to sound like a ‘good person’ in a society obsessed with the wellbeing of its underclasses. So if our self-actualization (and that of our in-groups) is already more important to us than the hunger of distant people… why not stop following a moral code we don’t even really believe in and create new values which better match our natures?
(Also, is it just me or is the hyperbolic use of ‘verboten’ incredibly annoying when you know the ‘vee’ is actually a ‘fow’ and thus the German and English words are virtually indistinguishable when spoken?)
Well said. This is true.
You mean like this?
I totally agree that utilitarianism is overhyped nonsense, and true values are much more selfish and unsympathetic. That said, given massive power, I think a non-significant fraction of my resources would go to public works projects and not just my throne.
Exactly; just because you create your own values and live by them doesn’t mean you have to stop helping your neighbor cross the street, or mandate that you start turning cherry blossom trees into biodiesel to power your strip-mining robots. It just means that you have defined your own preferences and aesthetics and act on that knowledge. “Don’t make a future too ugly for you to enjoy it” is as good a maxim as any.
I really like the “maximize awesomeness” idea BTW. It’s very catchy and cuts away a lot of the fat of the issue.
Unless I’m way out of whack with German pronunciation, the stressed vowel in verboten doesn’t sound anything like that in forbidden.
Verboten v Forbidden
Personally I hear fer-boat-in and fer-bid-in as similar enough that if someone on the street said the former I’d assume they meant the latter and never think twice about it. But even if you’d hear the difference more acutely, I don’t think either of us would think ‘Gestapo!’ the way we would seeing it spelled out.
Edit: Oops, I used lmgtfy instead of tinyurl. Sorry, that was a bookmarks issue not condescension.