There’s no particular need to renew the torture and dust specks debate, so I’ll just point out that GBM, Nominull, Ian C., and Manon de Gaillande have all made similar points: if you say, “if there is an external objective morality that says you should kill babies, why should you listen?” the question is the same as “if you should kill babies, why should you do it?”
Yes, and if 2 and 2 make 5, why should I admit it?
It isn’t in fact true that I should kill babies, just as 2 and 2 don’t make 5. But if I found out that 2 and 2 do make 5, of course I should admit it, and if I found out that I should kill babies, of course I should do it. As Nominull says, Eliezer’s objection to this is an objection to reason itself: if an argument establishes conclusively something you happen not to like, you should reject the conclusion.
There’s no particular need to renew the torture and dust specks debate, so I’ll just point out that GBM, Nominull, Ian C., and Manon de Gaillande have all made similar points: if you say, “if there is an external objective morality that says you should kill babies, why should you listen?” the question is the same as “if you should kill babies, why should you do it?”
Yes, and if 2 and 2 make 5, why should I admit it?
It isn’t in fact true that I should kill babies, just as 2 and 2 don’t make 5. But if I found out that 2 and 2 do make 5, of course I should admit it, and if I found out that I should kill babies, of course I should do it. As Nominull says, Eliezer’s objection to this is an objection to reason itself: if an argument establishes conclusively something you happen not to like, you should reject the conclusion.