There is a deep tension, indeed almost a contradiction, between two aspects of your essay. One one hand, you argue against the conclusions of Bob (from a beautiful, simple mathematical structure), of Jeff’s acquaintance (from the simple, appealing ethical principle “minimize suffering”) and of Jeff (from the simple, appealing ethical principle “maximize happiness”). You make the point that a Hayekian conservative spirit, that keeps in mind traditions, common sense and long-evolved intuitions and weighs them above logical principles appealing to intelligent people, should be used a warning light to reject those kind of philosophies. This is similar to what is sometimes loosely called the “outside view” here, and I basically agree with it, though it must be used carefully and on a case-by-case basis.
But just after that, you state a Libertarian principle, a Universal Law of non-aggression against persons and their property, and go so far as to assert that it applies to any kind of sentient being, including aliens and AIs. Now, I don’t want to be dragged into a discussion about libertarianism, which would be against the “no-politics” rules of Less Wrong(1). But I hope you realize that this “Universal Law” is a simple abstract principle of the kind that appeals to intelligent people, and as such not so different from “maximize happiness” or “minimize suffering”. The actual complex web of traditions, evolved intuitions and “common sense” of mankind is very far removed from these super-simple abstract principles. Rearranging any actual society to conform to the Libertarian principle. regardless of its merits, would require a huge upheaval of long-entrenched laws, customs and expectations, and as such should be rejected by the “outside view” heuristic that you preach in the first part of the essay. (ETA: see also Scott Aaronson’s description of libertarians as “bullet-swallowers”—the same intellectual vice, essentially, that you attribute to Bob, Jeff, and his acquaintance)
(1)Following these rules, I would suggest you to remove the last paragraph’s references to Obama and his Ayers connection, which does very little for the global points of your essay. It is the kind of thing that produces a strong, negative mind-killing reaction against your post to any reader who does not belong to a particular right-wing subculture.
Yes, the Universal Law applies to any kind of sentient being. See for instance my essay “Identity, Immunity, Law and Aggression on the Rapacious Hardscrapple Frontier” http://fare.tunes.org/liberty/hardscrapple.html
And no, I never argued that “if it appeals to intelligent people, it’s wrong”. Your implied argument is a straw man. If you read carefully, I give a very specific criterion on how one may lift the burden of the proof against tradition.
Who of the proponents of a theory and its opponents are bullet-swallowers? Each thinks it’s the other. Using that as an argument is begging the question.
There is a deep tension, indeed almost a contradiction, between two aspects of your essay. One one hand, you argue against the conclusions of Bob (from a beautiful, simple mathematical structure), of Jeff’s acquaintance (from the simple, appealing ethical principle “minimize suffering”) and of Jeff (from the simple, appealing ethical principle “maximize happiness”). You make the point that a Hayekian conservative spirit, that keeps in mind traditions, common sense and long-evolved intuitions and weighs them above logical principles appealing to intelligent people, should be used a warning light to reject those kind of philosophies. This is similar to what is sometimes loosely called the “outside view” here, and I basically agree with it, though it must be used carefully and on a case-by-case basis.
But just after that, you state a Libertarian principle, a Universal Law of non-aggression against persons and their property, and go so far as to assert that it applies to any kind of sentient being, including aliens and AIs. Now, I don’t want to be dragged into a discussion about libertarianism, which would be against the “no-politics” rules of Less Wrong(1). But I hope you realize that this “Universal Law” is a simple abstract principle of the kind that appeals to intelligent people, and as such not so different from “maximize happiness” or “minimize suffering”. The actual complex web of traditions, evolved intuitions and “common sense” of mankind is very far removed from these super-simple abstract principles. Rearranging any actual society to conform to the Libertarian principle. regardless of its merits, would require a huge upheaval of long-entrenched laws, customs and expectations, and as such should be rejected by the “outside view” heuristic that you preach in the first part of the essay. (ETA: see also Scott Aaronson’s description of libertarians as “bullet-swallowers”—the same intellectual vice, essentially, that you attribute to Bob, Jeff, and his acquaintance)
(1)Following these rules, I would suggest you to remove the last paragraph’s references to Obama and his Ayers connection, which does very little for the global points of your essay. It is the kind of thing that produces a strong, negative mind-killing reaction against your post to any reader who does not belong to a particular right-wing subculture.
Yes, the Universal Law applies to any kind of sentient being. See for instance my essay “Identity, Immunity, Law and Aggression on the Rapacious Hardscrapple Frontier” http://fare.tunes.org/liberty/hardscrapple.html
And no, I never argued that “if it appeals to intelligent people, it’s wrong”. Your implied argument is a straw man. If you read carefully, I give a very specific criterion on how one may lift the burden of the proof against tradition.
Who of the proponents of a theory and its opponents are bullet-swallowers? Each thinks it’s the other. Using that as an argument is begging the question.