I said “damaged” not “missing”. The notion is that I am my current self, but one day you inform me that, relative to other humans, my ability to care about others is damaged. Do I want a pill to fix the damage, even though it will change my values? Yes, because I value humanity and want to stay with humanity; I don’t want to be off in some lonely unoccupied volume of mindspace. This is one of the arguments that moves me.
Does that work in the other direction? The notion is that you are your current self, but one day I inform you that, relative to other humans, your ability to care about others is damaged in the sense that it is hyperactive. Do you want a pill that will fix the damage and change your values so that you value humanity less (putting you in a less lonely volume of mindspace)?
(And if you do not think that there is a meaningful chance that you should value humanity less, doesn’t that mean you are most likely undervaluing humanity right now, so you should update and start valuing humanity more? This is a general you, for everyone: if you do not think you should be a bit more sociopathic, what are the odds you have exactly the right amounts of empathy and altruism?)
I said “damaged” not “missing”. The notion is that I am my current self, but one day you inform me that, relative to other humans, my ability to care about others is damaged. Do I want a pill to fix the damage, even though it will change my values? Yes, because I value humanity and want to stay with humanity; I don’t want to be off in some lonely unoccupied volume of mindspace. This is one of the arguments that moves me.
Does that work in the other direction? The notion is that you are your current self, but one day I inform you that, relative to other humans, your ability to care about others is damaged in the sense that it is hyperactive. Do you want a pill that will fix the damage and change your values so that you value humanity less (putting you in a less lonely volume of mindspace)?
(And if you do not think that there is a meaningful chance that you should value humanity less, doesn’t that mean you are most likely undervaluing humanity right now, so you should update and start valuing humanity more? This is a general you, for everyone: if you do not think you should be a bit more sociopathic, what are the odds you have exactly the right amounts of empathy and altruism?)