Suppose you learned, suddenly and definitively, that nothing is moral and nothing is right; that everything is permissible and nothing is forbidden.
Suppose I proved that all utilities equaled zero.
If I still feel hunger then food has an utility > 0. If I don’t feel anything anymore, then I wouldn’t care about anything.
So our morality is defined by our emotions. The decisions I make are a tradeoff. Do I tip the waiter? Depends on my financial situation and if I’m willing to endure the awkwardness of breaking a social convention. Yes, I’ve often eaten without tipping.
Do I save the human in need? Yes, I have the tendency to do so, although this also depends on a series of factors. And I’m aware that this is also hardwired empathy. Abstract moral principles are just rationalizations from our emotionally hardwired brain.
I cannot imagine myself without morality because that wouldn’t be me, but another brain.
Does your laptop care if the battery is running out? Yes, it will start beeping, because it is hardwired to do so. If you removed this hardwired beeping you have removed the laptop’s morality.
Morality is not a ghost in the machine, but it is defined by the machine itself.
Eliezer you can prove to me that all utilities are 0 but since that wouldn’t change my emotional wiring, for me some utilities would still be != 0.
Suppose you learned, suddenly and definitively, that nothing is moral and nothing is right; that everything is permissible and nothing is forbidden.
Suppose I proved that all utilities equaled zero.
If I still feel hunger then food has an utility > 0. If I don’t feel anything anymore, then I wouldn’t care about anything.
So our morality is defined by our emotions. The decisions I make are a tradeoff. Do I tip the waiter? Depends on my financial situation and if I’m willing to endure the awkwardness of breaking a social convention. Yes, I’ve often eaten without tipping.
Do I save the human in need? Yes, I have the tendency to do so, although this also depends on a series of factors. And I’m aware that this is also hardwired empathy. Abstract moral principles are just rationalizations from our emotionally hardwired brain.
I cannot imagine myself without morality because that wouldn’t be me, but another brain.
Does your laptop care if the battery is running out? Yes, it will start beeping, because it is hardwired to do so. If you removed this hardwired beeping you have removed the laptop’s morality.
Morality is not a ghost in the machine, but it is defined by the machine itself.
Eliezer you can prove to me that all utilities are 0 but since that wouldn’t change my emotional wiring, for me some utilities would still be != 0.