While I can imagine a situation where one’s utility function would be as you described, it’s a pretty contrived one, e.g., a destitute crack addict suffering from a painful terminal illness, where the second best choice would be suicide. More importantly, for the typical crack user—the kind Phil Goetz was referencing—there’s almost always going to be something they could be spending the money on that would give them a higher expected utility over the long run (“bettering one’s situation”). It’s no small claim to say there isn’t.
While my example is a bit contrived, Phil said “some of them”, not “most of them”. I don’t understand the typical crack user very well, but I can pretty easily conjecture a ruined mind requiring some quite high threshold of stimulation to enjoy itself.
So let’s weaken the example, and make them fixable. From there I’d say asserting that they should almost always be able to rationally derive a reliable method of repairing their broken state with higher expected return than smoking crack for the rest of their life is no small claim. But really, I have no idea what it’s like to be them.
While I can imagine a situation where one’s utility function would be as you described, it’s a pretty contrived one, e.g., a destitute crack addict suffering from a painful terminal illness, where the second best choice would be suicide. More importantly, for the typical crack user—the kind Phil Goetz was referencing—there’s almost always going to be something they could be spending the money on that would give them a higher expected utility over the long run (“bettering one’s situation”). It’s no small claim to say there isn’t.
While my example is a bit contrived, Phil said “some of them”, not “most of them”. I don’t understand the typical crack user very well, but I can pretty easily conjecture a ruined mind requiring some quite high threshold of stimulation to enjoy itself.
So let’s weaken the example, and make them fixable. From there I’d say asserting that they should almost always be able to rationally derive a reliable method of repairing their broken state with higher expected return than smoking crack for the rest of their life is no small claim. But really, I have no idea what it’s like to be them.