My goals for money, social status, and even how much I care about my family don’t seem all that stable and have changed a bunch over time. They seem to be arising from some deeper combination of desires to be accepted, to have security, to feel good about myself, to avoid effortful work etc. interacting with my environment. Yet I wouldn’t think of myself as primarily pursuing those deeper desires, and during various periods would have self-modified if given the option to more aggressively pursue the goals that I (the “I” that was steering things) thought I cared about (like doing really well at a specific skill, which turned out to be a fleeting goal with time).
What about things like fun, happiness, eudamonia, meaning?
I certainly think that excluding brain damage/very advanced brainwashing, you are not going to eat babies or turn planets into paperclips.
My goals for money, social status, and even how much I care about my family don’t seem all that stable and have changed a bunch over time. They seem to be arising from some deeper combination of desires to be accepted, to have security, to feel good about myself, to avoid effortful work etc. interacting with my environment. Yet I wouldn’t think of myself as primarily pursuing those deeper desires, and during various periods would have self-modified if given the option to more aggressively pursue the goals that I (the “I” that was steering things) thought I cared about (like doing really well at a specific skill, which turned out to be a fleeting goal with time).
What about things like fun, happiness, eudamonia, meaning? I certainly think that excluding brain damage/very advanced brainwashing, you are not going to eat babies or turn planets into paperclips.