If you are responding to a hypothetical that tests a mathematical model, and your response doesn’t use math, and doesn’t hinge on a consciousness, infinity, or impossibility from the original problem domain, your response is likely irrelevant.
“The model used in this hypothetical does not meaningfully correspond to reality” seems relevant and not to fall under those categories, though it may count as impossibility. A lot of objections to hypotheticals, from what I’ve seen, stem from this conceptual problem but people rarely come out and say this bluntly.
While that can be a valid response, the map from the hypothetical to reality is often not obvious at first. This can be due to plain old inferential distance problems, or it can be a deliberate ‘trick’.
If you’re trying to convince someone of the truth of X, and they are emotionally involved in the truth of X, it can help to get them to agree with you on the truth of Y (of which they are emotionally neutral), and then only after they’re on the same page, give them the map.
For this reason, “That is true, but I don’t see any relevance” is usually a better response than “but real life isn’t a hypothetical!”.
IAWY and this also applies to hypotheticals testing non-mathematical models. For instance, there isn’t much isomorphism between Newcomblike problems involving perfectly honest game players who can predict your every move, and any gamelike interaction you’re ever likely to have.
“The model used in this hypothetical does not meaningfully correspond to reality” seems relevant and not to fall under those categories, though it may count as impossibility. A lot of objections to hypotheticals, from what I’ve seen, stem from this conceptual problem but people rarely come out and say this bluntly.
While that can be a valid response, the map from the hypothetical to reality is often not obvious at first. This can be due to plain old inferential distance problems, or it can be a deliberate ‘trick’.
If you’re trying to convince someone of the truth of X, and they are emotionally involved in the truth of X, it can help to get them to agree with you on the truth of Y (of which they are emotionally neutral), and then only after they’re on the same page, give them the map.
For this reason, “That is true, but I don’t see any relevance” is usually a better response than “but real life isn’t a hypothetical!”.
IAWY and this also applies to hypotheticals testing non-mathematical models. For instance, there isn’t much isomorphism between Newcomblike problems involving perfectly honest game players who can predict your every move, and any gamelike interaction you’re ever likely to have.
Oh, yes; that’s another valid response.