I think I understand the disconnect here, so let me try and describe it.
Suppose I have certain values, and preferences, which I endorse upon reflection; I am satisfied with what I value, in other words. Say that I enjoy physical activity, especially rock climbing and hiking; and I enjoy listening to [what I consider to be] good music; and I like writing poetry; and I enjoy fine dining (in particularly, exploring new cuisines); and say that I especially like doing this together with my friends, whom I respect and whose company I enjoy. I endorse these values; I take them to be part of who I am, and to develop the virtues I consider important.
Suppose that I go on a hike with a good friend of mine. I will enjoy this activity, yes? I will think that it’s really great, won’t I? Suppose we schedule the hike and my friend has to cancel—wouldn’t I be disappointed? That sounds like a “strong emotional attachment”… likewise if I were working on some verse which wasn’t coming together, etc. And is this bad? It doesn’t seem bad; after all, these really are my values; these are my true preferences; I endorse them; thus my “strong emotional attachment” to these activities, my judgment of them as being really great, is true.
Now suppose I go and engage in some activity which has nothing to do with my values and preferences, and is, perhaps, even anti-endorsed. Maybe I take some drugs. Maybe I get hypnotized. Whatever it is, I have no reason to endorse it; it forms no part of my identity, nor do I wish it to; it develops no virtues; were I to meet someone else who did this thing, I would not respect them more for it (in fact I’d probably respect them less).
And yet, the activity feels good; it produces a strong emotional attachment; I come away thinking that it’s really great. In this case, that feeling, that attachment, that evaluation, is false.
In short: the idea is that Circling is wireheading.
(Of course, I don’t speak for PDV, so maybe what I say is not descriptive of his reasons; but it does describe, to a large extent, my views on the matter.)
I think that I’m missing some of the anti-wireheading genes; not that there wouldn’t exist behaviors that I’d classify as wireheading and recoil from, but they tend to be things like rewriting your brain in a way that causes a permanent loss of agency, or hypnotizing yourself to believe that your child is happy and well when they are in fact starving and would need your help. But for the most part, I operate on a kind of implicit assumption that if something feels great, then that feeling of greatness is something intrinsically valuable itself. My wireheading revulsion only seems to kick in if the thing actually does active damage… and even then, I’m not sure if it’s so much the wireheading aspect that I’m recoiling from, but rather the damage aspect.
I think I understand the disconnect here, so let me try and describe it.
Suppose I have certain values, and preferences, which I endorse upon reflection; I am satisfied with what I value, in other words. Say that I enjoy physical activity, especially rock climbing and hiking; and I enjoy listening to [what I consider to be] good music; and I like writing poetry; and I enjoy fine dining (in particularly, exploring new cuisines); and say that I especially like doing this together with my friends, whom I respect and whose company I enjoy. I endorse these values; I take them to be part of who I am, and to develop the virtues I consider important.
Suppose that I go on a hike with a good friend of mine. I will enjoy this activity, yes? I will think that it’s really great, won’t I? Suppose we schedule the hike and my friend has to cancel—wouldn’t I be disappointed? That sounds like a “strong emotional attachment”… likewise if I were working on some verse which wasn’t coming together, etc. And is this bad? It doesn’t seem bad; after all, these really are my values; these are my true preferences; I endorse them; thus my “strong emotional attachment” to these activities, my judgment of them as being really great, is true.
Now suppose I go and engage in some activity which has nothing to do with my values and preferences, and is, perhaps, even anti-endorsed. Maybe I take some drugs. Maybe I get hypnotized. Whatever it is, I have no reason to endorse it; it forms no part of my identity, nor do I wish it to; it develops no virtues; were I to meet someone else who did this thing, I would not respect them more for it (in fact I’d probably respect them less).
And yet, the activity feels good; it produces a strong emotional attachment; I come away thinking that it’s really great. In this case, that feeling, that attachment, that evaluation, is false.
In short: the idea is that Circling is wireheading.
(Of course, I don’t speak for PDV, so maybe what I say is not descriptive of his reasons; but it does describe, to a large extent, my views on the matter.)
Thank you for the explanation.
I think that I’m missing some of the anti-wireheading genes; not that there wouldn’t exist behaviors that I’d classify as wireheading and recoil from, but they tend to be things like rewriting your brain in a way that causes a permanent loss of agency, or hypnotizing yourself to believe that your child is happy and well when they are in fact starving and would need your help. But for the most part, I operate on a kind of implicit assumption that if something feels great, then that feeling of greatness is something intrinsically valuable itself. My wireheading revulsion only seems to kick in if the thing actually does active damage… and even then, I’m not sure if it’s so much the wireheading aspect that I’m recoiling from, but rather the damage aspect.
Why do you enjoy rock climbing? Do you think that’s independent of your experiences of rock climbing having produced adrenaline rushs?