(I don’t know if this at all interests you, but I feel like putting it on the record:) It’s true my intuitions about decision theory are largely what drive my belief in objective morality a.k.a. the Thomistic/Platonic God a.k.a. objectively-optimal-decision-theory a.k.a. Chaitin’s omega, but my belief in little-g gods is rather removed from my intuitions about decision theory and is more the result of straightforward updating on observed evidence.
I was curious actually. I had a fair idea of the general background for the objective morality belief but the basis for the belief in gods was somewhat less clear. I did assume that you had a more esoteric/idiosyncratic basis for the belief in gods than straightforward updating on observed evidence so in that respect I’m a little surprised.
I’m still really confused about what I should make of gods/demons that claim to be the One True God; there’s a lot of literature on that subject but I’ve yet to read it. In the meantime I’d rather not negotiate with potential counterfactual terrorists. (Or have I already consented to negotiation without explicitly admitting it to myself? Bleh bleh bleh bleh...)
By my way of thinking you (and I) have already engaged in the counterfactual negotiated by the act of considering the possibility of such a negotiation and deciding what to do but by implementing the underlying principle behind “I don’t negotiate with terrorists” our deciding not to negotiate is equivalent to a non-counterfactual negotiation in which we unequivocally stone-wall—which is functionally equivalent to not having considered the possibility in the first place.
(One of the several fangs of Roko’s Basilisk represents an inability in some people to casually stonewall like this in the negotiation that is implicit in becoming aware of the simple thought that is the basilisk.)
I was curious actually. I had a fair idea of the general background for the objective morality belief but the basis for the belief in gods was somewhat less clear. I did assume that you had a more esoteric/idiosyncratic basis for the belief in gods than straightforward updating on observed evidence so in that respect I’m a little surprised.
By my way of thinking you (and I) have already engaged in the counterfactual negotiated by the act of considering the possibility of such a negotiation and deciding what to do but by implementing the underlying principle behind “I don’t negotiate with terrorists” our deciding not to negotiate is equivalent to a non-counterfactual negotiation in which we unequivocally stone-wall—which is functionally equivalent to not having considered the possibility in the first place.
(One of the several fangs of Roko’s Basilisk represents an inability in some people to casually stonewall like this in the negotiation that is implicit in becoming aware of the simple thought that is the basilisk.)