I think a given amount of dolorium/dystopia (say, the amount that can be created with 100 joules of energy) is far larger in absolute moral expected value than hedonium/utopia made with the same resources
Could you elaborate more on why this is the case? I would tend to think that a prior would be that they’re equal, and then you update on the fact that they seem to be asymmetrical, and try to work out why that is the case, and whether those factors will apply in future. They could be fundamentally asymmetrical, or evolutionary pressures may tend to create minds with these asymmetries. The arguments I’ve heard for why are:
The worst thing that can happen to an animal, in terms of genetic success, is much worse than the best thing.
This isn’t entirely clear to me: I can imagine a large genetic win such as securing a large harem could be comparable to the genetic loss of dying, and many animals will in fact risk death for this. This seems particularly true considering that dying leaving no offspring doesn’t make your contribution to the gene pool zero, just that it’s only via your relatives.
There is selection against strong positive experiences in a way that there isn’t against strong negative experiences.
The argument here is, I think, that strong positive experiences will likely result in the animal sticking in the blissful state, and neglecting to feed, sleep, etc, whereas strong negative experiences will just result in the animal avoiding a particular state, which is less maladaptive. This argument seems stronger to me but still not entirely satisfying—it seems to be quite sensitive to how you define states.
You say
Could you elaborate more on why this is the case? I would tend to think that a prior would be that they’re equal, and then you update on the fact that they seem to be asymmetrical, and try to work out why that is the case, and whether those factors will apply in future. They could be fundamentally asymmetrical, or evolutionary pressures may tend to create minds with these asymmetries. The arguments I’ve heard for why are:
The worst thing that can happen to an animal, in terms of genetic success, is much worse than the best thing.
This isn’t entirely clear to me: I can imagine a large genetic win such as securing a large harem could be comparable to the genetic loss of dying, and many animals will in fact risk death for this. This seems particularly true considering that dying leaving no offspring doesn’t make your contribution to the gene pool zero, just that it’s only via your relatives.
There is selection against strong positive experiences in a way that there isn’t against strong negative experiences.
The argument here is, I think, that strong positive experiences will likely result in the animal sticking in the blissful state, and neglecting to feed, sleep, etc, whereas strong negative experiences will just result in the animal avoiding a particular state, which is less maladaptive. This argument seems stronger to me but still not entirely satisfying—it seems to be quite sensitive to how you define states.