They don’t really. Or if they do, with very much less urgency than when confronted with the possibility of being eaten by a tiger.
I’m reminded of movies where people in impossibly tough situations stick to impossibly idealistic principles. The producers of the movie want to hoodwink you into thinking they would stand by their luxurious morality even when the going gets tough. When the truth is, their adherence to such absurdly costly principles is precisely to signal that, compared to those who cannot afford their morality, they have it easy.
Pascal’s wager was a very detached and abstract theological argument. If Pascal’s heart rate did increase from considering the argument, it was from being excited about showing off his clever new argument, than from the sense of urgency the expected utility calculation was supposed to convey, and which he insincerely sold the argument with.
“When the truth is, their adherence to such absurdly costly principles is precisely to signal that, compared to those who cannot afford their morality, they have it easy.”
I think the idea that “morality is a form of signalling” is inaccurate. I agree that moral principles have an evolutionary explanation, but I think that standard game theory provides the best explanation. Generally, it’s better to cooperate than to defect in the iterated prisoner’s dilemma; and the best way to convince others you’re a cooperator is to be, truly, madly and deeply, a cooperator.
Cf. Elizier’s claim that he wouldn’t break a promise, even if the whole of humanity was at stake. It certainly makes him seem more trustworthy, right?
Yeah. But it’s certainly possible for both to theories to be true. Morality is a pretty big umbrella term anyway. Also, evolution likes to exapt existing adaptations for other functions.
The producers of the movie want to hoodwink you into thinking they would stand by their luxurious morality even when the going gets tough.
I don’t think it’s the producers trying to hoodwink you. I think the audiences want to identify with people who can afford costly but dramatic morality.
Even losers buy morality. This is OK since they are usually hypocritical enough not to employ it in important Near mode decisions. Costly morality is a true signal, not playing along with the signaling game signals… you are a loser. None of this is conscious of course, the directors weren’t deliberately trying to deceive the audience. But what they subconsciously end up doing benefits those who can afford the costly morality more than those who cannot.
I’m reminded of movies where people in impossibly tough situations stick to impossibly idealistic principles. The producers of the movie want to hoodwink you into thinking they would stand by their luxurious morality even when the going gets tough.
Strangely, most of the recent movies and TV series I saw pretty much invert this. Protagonists tend to make arguably insanely bad moral choices (like choosing a course of action that will preserve hero’s relative at the cost of killing thousands of people). Sometimes this gets unbearable to watch.
They don’t really. Or if they do, with very much less urgency than when confronted with the possibility of being eaten by a tiger.
I’m reminded of movies where people in impossibly tough situations stick to impossibly idealistic principles. The producers of the movie want to hoodwink you into thinking they would stand by their luxurious morality even when the going gets tough. When the truth is, their adherence to such absurdly costly principles is precisely to signal that, compared to those who cannot afford their morality, they have it easy.
Pascal’s wager was a very detached and abstract theological argument. If Pascal’s heart rate did increase from considering the argument, it was from being excited about showing off his clever new argument, than from the sense of urgency the expected utility calculation was supposed to convey, and which he insincerely sold the argument with.
“When the truth is, their adherence to such absurdly costly principles is precisely to signal that, compared to those who cannot afford their morality, they have it easy.”
I think the idea that “morality is a form of signalling” is inaccurate. I agree that moral principles have an evolutionary explanation, but I think that standard game theory provides the best explanation. Generally, it’s better to cooperate than to defect in the iterated prisoner’s dilemma; and the best way to convince others you’re a cooperator is to be, truly, madly and deeply, a cooperator.
Cf. Elizier’s claim that he wouldn’t break a promise, even if the whole of humanity was at stake. It certainly makes him seem more trustworthy, right?
Yeah. But it’s certainly possible for both to theories to be true. Morality is a pretty big umbrella term anyway. Also, evolution likes to exapt existing adaptations for other functions.
I don’t think it’s the producers trying to hoodwink you. I think the audiences want to identify with people who can afford costly but dramatic morality.
Even losers buy morality. This is OK since they are usually hypocritical enough not to employ it in important Near mode decisions. Costly morality is a true signal, not playing along with the signaling game signals… you are a loser. None of this is conscious of course, the directors weren’t deliberately trying to deceive the audience. But what they subconsciously end up doing benefits those who can afford the costly morality more than those who cannot.
In fact, losers tend to buy it more literally than most.
Strangely, most of the recent movies and TV series I saw pretty much invert this. Protagonists tend to make arguably insanely bad moral choices (like choosing a course of action that will preserve hero’s relative at the cost of killing thousands of people). Sometimes this gets unbearable to watch.