I am likely to buy the book for my friends in any case, but I did just think of something that would give me an extra incentive. I want my friends to understand consequentialism/utility.
Most people I know are very stuck in “morality means not doing anything bad” mode. Not only would they not push the fat person off the bridge in the trolley problem, but many (perhaps most) wouldn’t so much as push the lever to switch tracks. A lot of them think the whole question is some sort of reductio ad absurdum of consequentialist philosophy (“you’re a consequentialist? I thought that was discredited when people showed that philosophy could be used to justify murdering someone in that trolley problem”). I’ve had no success arguing against these people, and one of the things that impressed me most the first time I read Overcoming Bias was that it was a community of people who used consequentialist arguments without fumbling for excuses, who thought Torture Vs. Dust Specks was a real problem instead of just “It would be wrong to inflict either of those options on people, so it’s not a moral issue” (which is what my old philosophy professor said when I mentioned it to her).
I don’t think Overcoming Bias ever officially argued for consequentialism, but a book aimed at the general public might have to. Eliezer is one of the most persuasive writers I’ve ever read, and if I thought his book could convince my friends to think consequentially I would be recommending it even more than I would otherwise.
I am likely to buy the book for my friends in any case, but I did just think of something that would give me an extra incentive. I want my friends to understand consequentialism/utility.
Most people I know are very stuck in “morality means not doing anything bad” mode. Not only would they not push the fat person off the bridge in the trolley problem, but many (perhaps most) wouldn’t so much as push the lever to switch tracks. A lot of them think the whole question is some sort of reductio ad absurdum of consequentialist philosophy (“you’re a consequentialist? I thought that was discredited when people showed that philosophy could be used to justify murdering someone in that trolley problem”). I’ve had no success arguing against these people, and one of the things that impressed me most the first time I read Overcoming Bias was that it was a community of people who used consequentialist arguments without fumbling for excuses, who thought Torture Vs. Dust Specks was a real problem instead of just “It would be wrong to inflict either of those options on people, so it’s not a moral issue” (which is what my old philosophy professor said when I mentioned it to her).
I don’t think Overcoming Bias ever officially argued for consequentialism, but a book aimed at the general public might have to. Eliezer is one of the most persuasive writers I’ve ever read, and if I thought his book could convince my friends to think consequentially I would be recommending it even more than I would otherwise.