Granted. I didn’t think it necessary because I don’t think Schmidhuber’s theory is a legitimate answer to the question, it’s just a step on the way to finding an answer. Also, Burfoot’s book doesn’t include the relevant aspect of Schmidhuber’s theory, which is the axiological aspect, i.e. the aspect pertaining to beauty and so on. A literature review of meta-ethics, on the other hand, would be more relevant, but wouldn’t be necessary for the modest nature of this post. Existent meta-ethics will start needing referencing in Part II and beyond, though it doesn’t look like Part II will show up on LessWrong.
A literature review is an essential part of any serious publication. Shows that you did your homework and so gives you more credibility.
Granted. I didn’t think it necessary because I don’t think Schmidhuber’s theory is a legitimate answer to the question, it’s just a step on the way to finding an answer. Also, Burfoot’s book doesn’t include the relevant aspect of Schmidhuber’s theory, which is the axiological aspect, i.e. the aspect pertaining to beauty and so on. A literature review of meta-ethics, on the other hand, would be more relevant, but wouldn’t be necessary for the modest nature of this post. Existent meta-ethics will start needing referencing in Part II and beyond, though it doesn’t look like Part II will show up on LessWrong.
If you don’t do Part 2 here, please post replies here with pointers to your blog so I’ll know when they’re available.