What’s the problem if a group of people explores the implications of a well-respected position in philosophy and are (I think) fully aware of the implications?
If the position is wrong then their work is of little use, or possibly harmful. FRI is a nonprofit organization affiliated with EA which uses nontrivial amounts of human and financial capital, of course it’s a problem if the work isn’t high value.
I wouldn’t be so quick to assume that the idea that moral status boils down to asking ‘which computations do I care about’ is a well-respected position in philosophy. It probably exists but not in substantial measure.
As far as I can see that’s just functionalism / physicalism plus moral anti-realism which are both well-respected. But as philosophy of mind and moral philosophy are separate fields you won’t see much discussion of the intersection of these views. Completely agreed if you do assume the position is wrong.
I think the choice of a metaethical view is less important than you think. Anti-realism is frequently a much richer view than just talking about preferences. It says that our moral statements aren’t truth-apt, but just because our statements aren’t truth-apt doesn’t mean they’re merely about preferences. Anti-realists can give accounts of why a rigorous moral theory is justified and is the right one to follow, not much different from how realists can. Conversely, you could even be a moral realist who believes that moral status boils down to which computations you happen to care about. Anyway, the point is that anti-realists can take pretty much any view in normative ethics, and justify those views in mostly the same ways that realists tend to justify their views (i.e. reasons other than personal preference). Just because we’re not talking about whether a moral principle is true or not doesn’t mean that we can no longer use the same basic reasons and arguments in favor of or against that principle. Those reasons will just have a different meaning.
Plus, physicalism is a weaker assertion than the view that consciousness is merely a matter of computation or information processing. Consciousness could be reducible to physical phenomena but without being reducible to computational steps. (eta: this is probably what most physicalists think.)
Thanks, for the clarification, I can’t comment much as I don’t know much about the different flavors or anti realism.
One thing I’d like to point out, and I’m happy to be corrected on that, is that when an anti realist argues they will often (always?) base themselves on principles such as consistency. It seems hard to argue anything without referring to any principle. But someone who who doesn’t support the application of a principle won’t be convinced and that’s up to preferences too. (I certainly know people who reject the drowning child argument because they explicitly don’t care about consistency). So you could see debate about ethics because people are exploring the implications of principles they happen to share.
Agree on physicalism being a fairly general set of views.
SoerenMind: It’s wayyy more than just functionalism/physicalism plus moral anti-realism. There are tons of people who hold both views, and only a tiny fraction of them are negative utilitarians or anything close. In fact I’d bet it’s somewhat unusual for any sort of moral anti-realist to be any sort of utilitarian.
If the position is wrong then their work is of little use, or possibly harmful. FRI is a nonprofit organization affiliated with EA which uses nontrivial amounts of human and financial capital, of course it’s a problem if the work isn’t high value.
I wouldn’t be so quick to assume that the idea that moral status boils down to asking ‘which computations do I care about’ is a well-respected position in philosophy. It probably exists but not in substantial measure.
As far as I can see that’s just functionalism / physicalism plus moral anti-realism which are both well-respected. But as philosophy of mind and moral philosophy are separate fields you won’t see much discussion of the intersection of these views. Completely agreed if you do assume the position is wrong.
I think the choice of a metaethical view is less important than you think. Anti-realism is frequently a much richer view than just talking about preferences. It says that our moral statements aren’t truth-apt, but just because our statements aren’t truth-apt doesn’t mean they’re merely about preferences. Anti-realists can give accounts of why a rigorous moral theory is justified and is the right one to follow, not much different from how realists can. Conversely, you could even be a moral realist who believes that moral status boils down to which computations you happen to care about. Anyway, the point is that anti-realists can take pretty much any view in normative ethics, and justify those views in mostly the same ways that realists tend to justify their views (i.e. reasons other than personal preference). Just because we’re not talking about whether a moral principle is true or not doesn’t mean that we can no longer use the same basic reasons and arguments in favor of or against that principle. Those reasons will just have a different meaning.
Plus, physicalism is a weaker assertion than the view that consciousness is merely a matter of computation or information processing. Consciousness could be reducible to physical phenomena but without being reducible to computational steps. (eta: this is probably what most physicalists think.)
Thanks, for the clarification, I can’t comment much as I don’t know much about the different flavors or anti realism.
One thing I’d like to point out, and I’m happy to be corrected on that, is that when an anti realist argues they will often (always?) base themselves on principles such as consistency. It seems hard to argue anything without referring to any principle. But someone who who doesn’t support the application of a principle won’t be convinced and that’s up to preferences too. (I certainly know people who reject the drowning child argument because they explicitly don’t care about consistency). So you could see debate about ethics because people are exploring the implications of principles they happen to share.
Agree on physicalism being a fairly general set of views.
I agree with this.
SoerenMind: It’s wayyy more than just functionalism/physicalism plus moral anti-realism. There are tons of people who hold both views, and only a tiny fraction of them are negative utilitarians or anything close. In fact I’d bet it’s somewhat unusual for any sort of moral anti-realist to be any sort of utilitarian.