Even if both things are consistent with a broader theory, they still seem like distinct errors. As a different example, “I’ll go to hell if I sin” and “Homosexuality is a sin” are both consistent with the broader theory of Christianity, but I think they’re still distinct errors.
I don’t think it matters too much though. The purpose of establishing them to be distinct errors is to establish that he is deeply confused, but either one of them alone (well, b wouldn’t make sense without a) would be more than sufficient, right?
Again, this boils down to using “confused” to mean “has an opinion I disagree with”.
Edit: if you are in a context where you can achieve correctness beyond mere consistency, by all means do so. But transhumanism and Life extension are not that context ,because they are so entangled with values and preferences.
Even if both things are consistent with a broader theory, they still seem like distinct errors. As a different example, “I’ll go to hell if I sin” and “Homosexuality is a sin” are both consistent with the broader theory of Christianity, but I think they’re still distinct errors.
I don’t think it matters too much though. The purpose of establishing them to be distinct errors is to establish that he is deeply confused, but either one of them alone (well, b wouldn’t make sense without a) would be more than sufficient, right?
Again, this boils down to using “confused” to mean “has an opinion I disagree with”.
Edit: if you are in a context where you can achieve correctness beyond mere consistency, by all means do so. But transhumanism and Life extension are not that context ,because they are so entangled with values and preferences.