It seems like following general situation is pretty common: Someone is initially inclined to think that anything with property P will also have property Q1 and Q2. But then they realize that properties Q1 and Q2 are inconsistent with one another.
One possible reaction to this situation is to conclude that nothing actually has property P. Maybe the idea of property P isn’t even conceptually coherent and we should stop talking about it (while continuing to independently discuss properties Q1 and Q2). Often the more natural reaction, though, is to continue to believe that some things have property P—but just drop the assumption that these things will also have both property Q1 and property Q2.
I think I disagree with the claim (or implication) that keeping P is more often more natural. Well, you’re just saying it’s “often” natural, and I suppose it’s natural in some cases and not others. But I think we may disagree on how often it’s natural, though hard to say at this very abstract level. (Did you see my comment in response to your Realism and Rationality post?)
In particular, I’m curious what makes you optimistic about finding a “correct” criterion of rightness. In the case of the politician, it seems clear that learning they don’t have some of the properties you thought shouldn’t call into question whether they exist at all.
But for the case of a criterion of rightness, my intuition (informed by the style of thinking in my comment), is that there’s no particular reason to think there should be one criterion that obviously fits the bill. Your intuition seems to be the opposite, and I’m not sure I understand why.
My best guess, particularly informed by reading through footnote 15 on your Realism and Rationality post, is that when faced with ethical dilemmas (like your torture vs lollipop examples), it seems like there is a correct answer. Does that seem right?
(I realize at this point we’re talking about intuitions and priors on a pretty abstract level, so it may be hard to give a good answer.)
I think I disagree with the claim (or implication) that keeping P is more often more natural. Well, you’re just saying it’s “often” natural, and I suppose it’s natural in some cases and not others. But I think we may disagree on how often it’s natural, though hard to say at this very abstract level. (Did you see my comment in response to your Realism and Rationality post?)
In particular, I’m curious what makes you optimistic about finding a “correct” criterion of rightness. In the case of the politician, it seems clear that learning they don’t have some of the properties you thought shouldn’t call into question whether they exist at all.
But for the case of a criterion of rightness, my intuition (informed by the style of thinking in my comment), is that there’s no particular reason to think there should be one criterion that obviously fits the bill. Your intuition seems to be the opposite, and I’m not sure I understand why.
Hey again!
I appreciated your comment on the LW post. I started writing up a response to this comment and your LW one, back when the thread was still active, and then stopped because it had become obscenely long. Then I ended up badly needing to procrastinate doing something else today. So here’s an over-long document I probably shouldn’t have written, which you are under no social obligation to read.
I think there’s a key piece of your thinking that I don’t quite understand / disagree with, and it’s the idea that normativity is irreducible.
I think I follow you that if normativity were irreducible, then it wouldn’t be a good candidate for abandonment or revision. But that seems almost like begging the question. I don’t understand why it’s irreducible.
Suppose normativity is not actually one thing, but is a jumble of 15 overlapping things that sometimes come apart. This doesn’t seem like it poses any challenge to your intuitions from footnote 6 in the document (starting with “I personally care a lot about the question: ‘Is there anything I should do, and, if so, what?’”). And at the same time it explains why there are weird edge cases where the concept seems to break down.
So few things in life seem to be irreducible. (E.g. neither Eric nor Ben is irreducible!) So why would normativity be?
[You also should feel under no social obligation to respond, though it would be fun to discuss this the next time we find ourselves at the same party, should such a situation arise.]
Thanks! This is helpful.
I think I disagree with the claim (or implication) that keeping P is more often more natural. Well, you’re just saying it’s “often” natural, and I suppose it’s natural in some cases and not others. But I think we may disagree on how often it’s natural, though hard to say at this very abstract level. (Did you see my comment in response to your Realism and Rationality post?)
In particular, I’m curious what makes you optimistic about finding a “correct” criterion of rightness. In the case of the politician, it seems clear that learning they don’t have some of the properties you thought shouldn’t call into question whether they exist at all.
But for the case of a criterion of rightness, my intuition (informed by the style of thinking in my comment), is that there’s no particular reason to think there should be one criterion that obviously fits the bill. Your intuition seems to be the opposite, and I’m not sure I understand why.
My best guess, particularly informed by reading through footnote 15 on your Realism and Rationality post, is that when faced with ethical dilemmas (like your torture vs lollipop examples), it seems like there is a correct answer. Does that seem right?
(I realize at this point we’re talking about intuitions and priors on a pretty abstract level, so it may be hard to give a good answer.)
Hey again!
I appreciated your comment on the LW post. I started writing up a response to this comment and your LW one, back when the thread was still active, and then stopped because it had become obscenely long. Then I ended up badly needing to procrastinate doing something else today. So here’s an over-long document I probably shouldn’t have written, which you are under no social obligation to read.
Thanks! Just read it.
I think there’s a key piece of your thinking that I don’t quite understand / disagree with, and it’s the idea that normativity is irreducible.
I think I follow you that if normativity were irreducible, then it wouldn’t be a good candidate for abandonment or revision. But that seems almost like begging the question. I don’t understand why it’s irreducible.
Suppose normativity is not actually one thing, but is a jumble of 15 overlapping things that sometimes come apart. This doesn’t seem like it poses any challenge to your intuitions from footnote 6 in the document (starting with “I personally care a lot about the question: ‘Is there anything I should do, and, if so, what?’”). And at the same time it explains why there are weird edge cases where the concept seems to break down.
So few things in life seem to be irreducible. (E.g. neither Eric nor Ben is irreducible!) So why would normativity be?
[You also should feel under no social obligation to respond, though it would be fun to discuss this the next time we find ourselves at the same party, should such a situation arise.]