Are you saying that human choices are not “written into their definition” in some measure ?
I have no idea what that even means.
On the one hand, I do agree with you, and I can’t wait to see your proposed solution.
My only solution is “don’t do that then”. It’s a broken thought process, and my interest in it ends with that recognition. Am I a soul doctor? I am not. I seem to be naturally resistant to that failure, but I don’t know how to fix anyone who isn’t.
Let me put it in a different way: if you could take a magic pill which would remove (or, at the very least, greatly reduce) your desire for passive entertainment, would you do it ?
What desire for passive entertainment? For that matter, what is this “passive entertainment”? I am not getting a clear idea of what we are talking about. At any rate, I can’t imagine “entertainment” in the ordinary meaning of that word being a terminal goal.
FWIW, I do not watch television, and have never attended spectator sports.
People with extremely low preferences for passive entertainment do exist, after all
Are you saying that human choices are not “written into their definition” in some measure ?
I have no idea what that even means.
To rephrase: do you believe that all choices made by humans are completely under the humans’ conscious control ? If not, what proportion of our choices is under our control, and what proportion is written into our genes and is thus difficult, if not impossible, to change (given our present level of technology) ?
You objected to my using Clippy as an analogy to human behaviour, on the grounds that Clippy’s choices are “written into its definition”. My point is that a). Clippy is free to make whatever choices it wants, as long as it believes (correctly or erroneously) such choices would lead to more paperclips, and b). we humans operate in a similar way, only we care about things other than paperclips, and therefore c). Clippy is a valid analogy.
My only solution is “don’t do that then”.
Don’t do what ? Do you have a moral theory which works better than utilitarianism/consequentialism ?
What desire for passive entertainment? For that matter, what is this “passive entertainment”?
You don’t watch TV or attend sports, but do you read any fiction books ? Listen to music ? Look at paintings or sculptures (on your own initiative, that is, and not as part of a job) ? Enjoy listening to some small subclass of jokes ? Watch any movies ? Play video games ? Stare at a fire at night ? I’m just trying to pinpoint your general level of interest in entertainment.
At any rate, I can’t imagine “entertainment” in the ordinary meaning of that word being a terminal goal.
Just because you personally can’t imagine something, doesn’t mean it’s not true. For example, art and music—both of which are forms of passive entertainment—has been a part of human history ever since the caveman days, and continue to flourish today. There may be something hardcoded in our genes (maybe not yours personally, but on average) that makes us enjoy art and music. On the other hand, there are lots of things hardcoded in our genes that we’d be better off without...
To rephrase: do you believe that all choices made by humans are completely under the humans’ conscious control ? If not, what proportion of our choices is under our control, and what proportion is written into our genes and is thus difficult, if not impossible, to change (given our present level of technology) ?
The whole language is wrong here.
What does it mean to talk about a choice being “completely under the humans’ conscious control”? Obviously, the causal connections wind through and through all manner of things that are outside consciousness as well as inside. When could you ever say that a decision is “completely under conscious control”?
Then you talk as if a decision not “completely under conscious control” must be “written into the genes”. Where does that come from?
do you read any fiction books?
Why do you specify fiction? Is fiction “passive entertainment” but non-fiction something else?
There may be something hardcoded in our genes (maybe not yours personally, but on average) that makes us enjoy art and music.
What is this “us” that is separate from and acted upon by our genes? Mentalistic dualism?
My only solution is “don’t do that then”.
Don’t do what ? Do you have a moral theory which works better than utilitarianism/consequentialism ?
Don’t crash and burn. I have no moral theory and am not impressed by anything on offer from the philosophers.
To sum up, there’s a large and complex set of assumptions behind everything you’re saying here that I don’t think I share, but I can only guess at from glimpsing the shadowy outlines. I doubt further discussion will get anywhere useful.
Are you saying that human choices are not “written into their definition” in some measure ?
I think Bugmaster is equating being “written in” in the sense of a stipulation in a thought experiment with being “written in” in the sense of being the outcome of an evolutionary process.
I have no idea what that even means.
My only solution is “don’t do that then”. It’s a broken thought process, and my interest in it ends with that recognition. Am I a soul doctor? I am not. I seem to be naturally resistant to that failure, but I don’t know how to fix anyone who isn’t.
What desire for passive entertainment? For that matter, what is this “passive entertainment”? I am not getting a clear idea of what we are talking about. At any rate, I can’t imagine “entertainment” in the ordinary meaning of that word being a terminal goal.
FWIW, I do not watch television, and have never attended spectator sports.
Quite.
To rephrase: do you believe that all choices made by humans are completely under the humans’ conscious control ? If not, what proportion of our choices is under our control, and what proportion is written into our genes and is thus difficult, if not impossible, to change (given our present level of technology) ?
You objected to my using Clippy as an analogy to human behaviour, on the grounds that Clippy’s choices are “written into its definition”. My point is that a). Clippy is free to make whatever choices it wants, as long as it believes (correctly or erroneously) such choices would lead to more paperclips, and b). we humans operate in a similar way, only we care about things other than paperclips, and therefore c). Clippy is a valid analogy.
Don’t do what ? Do you have a moral theory which works better than utilitarianism/consequentialism ?
You don’t watch TV or attend sports, but do you read any fiction books ? Listen to music ? Look at paintings or sculptures (on your own initiative, that is, and not as part of a job) ? Enjoy listening to some small subclass of jokes ? Watch any movies ? Play video games ? Stare at a fire at night ? I’m just trying to pinpoint your general level of interest in entertainment.
Just because you personally can’t imagine something, doesn’t mean it’s not true. For example, art and music—both of which are forms of passive entertainment—has been a part of human history ever since the caveman days, and continue to flourish today. There may be something hardcoded in our genes (maybe not yours personally, but on average) that makes us enjoy art and music. On the other hand, there are lots of things hardcoded in our genes that we’d be better off without...
The whole language is wrong here.
What does it mean to talk about a choice being “completely under the humans’ conscious control”? Obviously, the causal connections wind through and through all manner of things that are outside consciousness as well as inside. When could you ever say that a decision is “completely under conscious control”?
Then you talk as if a decision not “completely under conscious control” must be “written into the genes”. Where does that come from?
Why do you specify fiction? Is fiction “passive entertainment” but non-fiction something else?
What is this “us” that is separate from and acted upon by our genes? Mentalistic dualism?
Don’t crash and burn. I have no moral theory and am not impressed by anything on offer from the philosophers.
To sum up, there’s a large and complex set of assumptions behind everything you’re saying here that I don’t think I share, but I can only guess at from glimpsing the shadowy outlines. I doubt further discussion will get anywhere useful.
I think Bugmaster is equating being “written in” in the sense of a stipulation in a thought experiment with being “written in” in the sense of being the outcome of an evolutionary process.
If he is, he shouldn’t. These are completely different concepts.