Joshua Greene appears to create a false dichotomy: we can either trust our intuitions, or we can “shut up and multiply” (it is interesting that Yudkowsky has already shown the problem with mistrusting our intuitions and taking our model too seriously by “shutting up and multiplying”.
There is a third answer, which is actually the most traditional answer: find the best model (whether by researching models that more closely approximate the hypothetical, or by asking someone who has developed such a model by working in an appropriate field).
So, when we are thinking about donations to charity, we know that helping the wounded is a dissimilar task. Using a model designed to work in nearby emergencies is likely to produce poor results when contemplating distant charities tackling ongoing problems. Instead, we are better served using a model that best approximates the actual situation. If we look at smart, decent people who work for overseas charities, we discover that their models emphasize striking a balance between aid for others, our loved ones, and ourselves. This is different from our behavior in emergencies (the bleeding stranger on the road)- and it’s not that they’re wrong. They just have a more appropriate model for that kind of situation.
Joshua Greene appears to create a false dichotomy: we can either trust our intuitions, or we can “shut up and multiply” (it is interesting that Yudkowsky has already shown the problem with mistrusting our intuitions and taking our model too seriously by “shutting up and multiplying”. There is a third answer, which is actually the most traditional answer: find the best model (whether by researching models that more closely approximate the hypothetical, or by asking someone who has developed such a model by working in an appropriate field). So, when we are thinking about donations to charity, we know that helping the wounded is a dissimilar task. Using a model designed to work in nearby emergencies is likely to produce poor results when contemplating distant charities tackling ongoing problems. Instead, we are better served using a model that best approximates the actual situation. If we look at smart, decent people who work for overseas charities, we discover that their models emphasize striking a balance between aid for others, our loved ones, and ourselves. This is different from our behavior in emergencies (the bleeding stranger on the road)- and it’s not that they’re wrong. They just have a more appropriate model for that kind of situation.