3. I shouldnât just ask what I should do selfishly speaking
I think the real question is, selfishly speaking, how much more do you gain from playing video games than from working on longtermism?
It could be that thatâs the only question I have to ask. That would happen if I work out what seems best to do from an altruistic perspective, then from a self-interested perspective, and I notice that theyâre identical.
But that seems extremely unlikely. It seems likely that thereâs a lot of overlap between whatâs quite good from each perspective (at least given my current knowledge), since evolution and socialisation and such have led me to enjoy being and feeling helpful, noble, heroic, etc. But it seems much less likely that the very best thing from two very different perspectives is identical. See also Beware surprising and suspicious convergence.
Another way that that could be the only question I have to ask is if Iâm certain that I should just act according to self-interest, regardless of whatâs right from an altruistic perspective. But I see no good basis for that certainty.
This is part I said âit seems plausible that my behaviours would stay pretty similar if I lost all credence in the first four claimsâ, rather than making a stronger claim. I do think my behaviours would change at least slightly.
3. I shouldnât just ask what I should do selfishly speaking
It could be that thatâs the only question I have to ask. That would happen if I work out what seems best to do from an altruistic perspective, then from a self-interested perspective, and I notice that theyâre identical.
But that seems extremely unlikely. It seems likely that thereâs a lot of overlap between whatâs quite good from each perspective (at least given my current knowledge), since evolution and socialisation and such have led me to enjoy being and feeling helpful, noble, heroic, etc. But it seems much less likely that the very best thing from two very different perspectives is identical. See also Beware surprising and suspicious convergence.
Another way that that could be the only question I have to ask is if Iâm certain that I should just act according to self-interest, regardless of whatâs right from an altruistic perspective. But I see no good basis for that certainty.
This is part I said âit seems plausible that my behaviours would stay pretty similar if I lost all credence in the first four claimsâ, rather than making a stronger claim. I do think my behaviours would change at least slightly.