To me it seems like this post evades what is to me the hard question of morality. If my own welfare often comes in conflict with the welfare of others, then how much weight should I attach to my own utility in comparison to the utility of other humans? This post seems to say I should look into the mirror to get my answer—but that answer is too crude - in the sense that I know I should care for others, but how much?
I think there is definitely a role for external influence here. My reading OB for the last year or more has made me consciously think of myself as a rationalist, and this has pushed me to behave in a manner consistent with my self-labelling as a rationalist. In a similar fashion, if I start thinking of myself as an altruist (having come under some external influence), I am quite sure it will push me to behave in a manner more consistent with that labelling. It is trivial/wrong to then say that this altruism was “latent” in me all along.
This post seems to say I should look in the mirror to get my answer
I’d agree with that. However, I doubt Eliezer would agree that you should only look in the mirror. Perhaps we can steel-man the concept: Look in the mirror, holding up the evidence you’ve gone out into the world to collect. At that point, if you see two pieces of paper with possible answers to your question float by, it will be you who chooses which answer is better. Even if one of the pieces of paper just says “Do whatever your parents tell you to”, it would still be you who chose to listen to that piece of paper rather than another one. (Eliezer makes this analogy somewhere (and he does a better job than I did), but I couldn’t find it; otherwise, I would have cited it.)
To me it seems like this post evades what is to me the hard question of morality. If my own welfare often comes in conflict with the welfare of others, then how much weight should I attach to my own utility in comparison to the utility of other humans? This post seems to say I should look into the mirror to get my answer—but that answer is too crude - in the sense that I know I should care for others, but how much?
I think there is definitely a role for external influence here. My reading OB for the last year or more has made me consciously think of myself as a rationalist, and this has pushed me to behave in a manner consistent with my self-labelling as a rationalist. In a similar fashion, if I start thinking of myself as an altruist (having come under some external influence), I am quite sure it will push me to behave in a manner more consistent with that labelling. It is trivial/wrong to then say that this altruism was “latent” in me all along.
I’d agree with that. However, I doubt Eliezer would agree that you should only look in the mirror. Perhaps we can steel-man the concept: Look in the mirror, holding up the evidence you’ve gone out into the world to collect. At that point, if you see two pieces of paper with possible answers to your question float by, it will be you who chooses which answer is better. Even if one of the pieces of paper just says “Do whatever your parents tell you to”, it would still be you who chose to listen to that piece of paper rather than another one. (Eliezer makes this analogy somewhere (and he does a better job than I did), but I couldn’t find it; otherwise, I would have cited it.)