There are many different things that can cause us to change what we value. Some seem like change-processes that our current values would endorse:
I thought a lot about the issue, decided that two of my values were in conflict, and chose to prioritize one over the other.
Some seem like random processes we should resist:
I got hit in the head, and the damage caused me to change my personality and values.
Some seem actively adversarial:
Years of propaganda wore me down and caused me to love Dear Leader.
Or self-deceptive:
I subconsciously realized that opinion X was high status, and found it expedient to adopt this as well.
In general I think people’s opinions on the issue depend on how common they think these different cases are. I am generally quite pessimistic here; I think the first case is quite rare, and most cases that appear to be of this form are really examples of the third or fourth case. This makes me pessimistic about the long-term future, and I am interested in what we can do to reduce the influence of the last three cases.
There are many different things that can cause us to change what we value. Some seem like change-processes that our current values would endorse:
I thought a lot about the issue, decided that two of my values were in conflict, and chose to prioritize one over the other.
Some seem like random processes we should resist:
I got hit in the head, and the damage caused me to change my personality and values.
Some seem actively adversarial:
Years of propaganda wore me down and caused me to love Dear Leader.
Or self-deceptive:
I subconsciously realized that opinion X was high status, and found it expedient to adopt this as well.
In general I think people’s opinions on the issue depend on how common they think these different cases are. I am generally quite pessimistic here; I think the first case is quite rare, and most cases that appear to be of this form are really examples of the third or fourth case. This makes me pessimistic about the long-term future, and I am interested in what we can do to reduce the influence of the last three cases.