Despite some jokes I made earlier, things that could arguably depend on values don’t make good litmus tests. Though I did at one point talk to someone who tried to convert me to vegetarianism by saying that if I was willing to eat pork, it ought to be okay to eat month-old infants too, since the pigs were much smarter. I’m pretty sure you can guess where that conversation went...
Option zero: “There’s an interesting story I once wrote...”
Option one: “Well then, I won’t/don’t eat pork. But that doesn’t mean I won’t eat any animals. I can be selective in which I eat.”
Option two: “mmmmm… babies.”
Option three: “Why can’t I simply not want to eat babies? I can simply prefer to eat pigs and not babies”
Option four: “Seems like a convincing argument to me. Okay, vegetarian now.” (after all, technically you said they tried, but you didn’t say the failed. ;))
Option five: “actually, I already am one.”
Am I missing any (somewhat) plausible branches it could have taken? More to the point, is one of the above the direction it actually went? :)
(My model of you, incidentally, suggests option three as your least likely response and option one as your most likely serious response.)
Well, not quite option two, but yes, “You make a convincing case that it should be legal to eat month-old infants.” One person’s modus ponens is another’s modus tollens...
Option six: “I was a vegetarian, but I’m okay with eating babies, and if pigs are just as smart, it should be okay to eat them too, so you’ve convinced me to give up vegetarianism.”
This reminds me of the elves in Dwarf Fortress. They eat people, but not animals.
I’m imagining this conversation while you’re both holding menus...
In seriousness, there are good instrumental reasons not to allow people to eat month-old infants that are nothing to do with greatly valuing them in your terminal values.
That guy clearly asked you those questions in the wrong order.
Do you believe killing animals for food is OK?
Killing animals for food is the same as eating babies!
Do you believe killing babies for food is OK?
… is obviously going to activate biases leading to the defense of killing animals for food, whether by denying they are equivalent or claiming to accept killing children for food. Thus the chance of persuading someone eating babies is morally acceptable depends on how strongly you argue the second point.
However...
Do you believe killing babies for food is OK?
Killing animals for food is the same as eating babies!
Do you believe killing animals for food is OK?
… leads to the opposite bias, as if the listener cannot refute your second point they must convert to vegetarianism or visibly contradict themselves.
It isn’t a question of current intelligence, it’s a question of potential. Pigs will never grow beyond human-infant-level comprehension. Human babies will eventually become both sapient and sentient.
Saying a baby and a pig can be considered equally intelligent is like saying a midget and an 11-year-old of the same height are equally likely to become basketball players.
Doesn’t this depend on whether one is referring to fluid intelligence or crystal intelligence? Human babies may have the same crystal intelligence as adult pigs, but they have much higher fluid intelligence.
I think what happened here is that the vegetarian failed to realize that the component of intelligence that people find morally significant is fluid, not crystal, and then he equivocated between the two. EY realized what was going on, even if subconsciously, which is why he trolled the vegetarian instead of disputing his premise. Finally, Fallible failed to pick up on the distinction entirely by assuming that “intelligence” always refers to fluid intelligence.
Despite some jokes I made earlier, things that could arguably depend on values don’t make good litmus tests. Though I did at one point talk to someone who tried to convert me to vegetarianism by saying that if I was willing to eat pork, it ought to be okay to eat month-old infants too, since the pigs were much smarter. I’m pretty sure you can guess where that conversation went...
You started eating month-old infants?
Option zero: “There’s an interesting story I once wrote...”
Option one: “Well then, I won’t/don’t eat pork. But that doesn’t mean I won’t eat any animals. I can be selective in which I eat.”
Option two: “mmmmm… babies.”
Option three: “Why can’t I simply not want to eat babies? I can simply prefer to eat pigs and not babies”
Option four: “Seems like a convincing argument to me. Okay, vegetarian now.” (after all, technically you said they tried, but you didn’t say the failed. ;))
Option five: “actually, I already am one.”
Am I missing any (somewhat) plausible branches it could have taken? More to the point, is one of the above the direction it actually went? :)
(My model of you, incidentally, suggests option three as your least likely response and option one as your most likely serious response.)
Well, not quite option two, but yes, “You make a convincing case that it should be legal to eat month-old infants.” One person’s modus ponens is another’s modus tollens...
I actually did a presentation arguing for the legality of eating babies in a Bioethics class.
And I don’t eat pigs, on moral grounds.
Option six: “I was a vegetarian, but I’m okay with eating babies, and if pigs are just as smart, it should be okay to eat them too, so you’ve convinced me to give up vegetarianism.”
This reminds me of the elves in Dwarf Fortress. They eat people, but not animals.
I’m imagining this conversation while you’re both holding menus...
In seriousness, there are good instrumental reasons not to allow people to eat month-old infants that are nothing to do with greatly valuing them in your terminal values.
Both menus being “vegetarian and non vegetarian” or “pork menu and baby menu”? :)
That guy clearly asked you those questions in the wrong order.
Do you believe killing animals for food is OK?
Killing animals for food is the same as eating babies!
Do you believe killing babies for food is OK?
… is obviously going to activate biases leading to the defense of killing animals for food, whether by denying they are equivalent or claiming to accept killing children for food. Thus the chance of persuading someone eating babies is morally acceptable depends on how strongly you argue the second point.
However...
Do you believe killing babies for food is OK?
Killing animals for food is the same as eating babies!
Do you believe killing animals for food is OK?
… leads to the opposite bias, as if the listener cannot refute your second point they must convert to vegetarianism or visibly contradict themselves.
this is sounding like a copout....
It isn’t a question of current intelligence, it’s a question of potential. Pigs will never grow beyond human-infant-level comprehension. Human babies will eventually become both sapient and sentient.
Saying a baby and a pig can be considered equally intelligent is like saying a midget and an 11-year-old of the same height are equally likely to become basketball players.
No, saying a baby and a pig can be considered equally intelligent is like saying a midget and an 11-year-old can be considered equally tall.
Doesn’t this depend on whether one is referring to fluid intelligence or crystal intelligence? Human babies may have the same crystal intelligence as adult pigs, but they have much higher fluid intelligence.
I think what happened here is that the vegetarian failed to realize that the component of intelligence that people find morally significant is fluid, not crystal, and then he equivocated between the two. EY realized what was going on, even if subconsciously, which is why he trolled the vegetarian instead of disputing his premise. Finally, Fallible failed to pick up on the distinction entirely by assuming that “intelligence” always refers to fluid intelligence.
How about fertilized egg cells?
Caviar made from fertilized human egg cells, yum.