Thanks for the link! I’m a pretty big fan of that book.
Max_Carpendale
Karma: 889
Interview with Jon Mallatt about invertebrate consciousness
The Evolution of Sentience as a Factor in the Cambrian Explosion: Setting up the Question
Sharks probably do feel pain: a reply to Michael Tye and others
I think it’s somewhat stronger than “doing work on one philosophical question is relevant to all other philosophical questions.”
I guess if you were particularly sceptical about the possibility of digital sentience then you might focus on things like the Chinese room thought experiment, and that wouldn’t have that much overlap with invertebrate sentience research. I’m relatively confident that digital sentience is possible so I wasn’t really thinking about that when I made the claim that there is substantial overlap in all sentience research.
Some ways in which I think there is overlap are that looking at different potential cases of sentience can give us insight into which features give the best evidence of sentience. For example, many people think that mirror self-recognition is somehow important to sentience, but reflecting on the fact that you can specifically design a robot to pass something like a mirror test can give you perspective as to what aspects if any other test are actually suggestive of sentience.
Getting a better idea of what sentience is and what theories of it are most plausible is also useful for assessing sentience in any entity. One way of getting a better idea of what it is is to research cases of it that we are more confident in such as humans and to a lesser extent other vertebrates.
Why I’m focusing on invertebrate sentience
Another reason it might make sense to ignore flow-through effects is when you don’t know whether they would be positive or negative. If you were absolutely unsure about the flow-through effects, and figuring them out seemed impossible, then it seems right that they would balance out and that you can expect zero value from them. Insofar as this is the case, you should ignore them.
Do you have any recommendations on how to avoid wasting time updating the current activity on Toggl?
I’m Max and I’m from Vancouver, Canada. I am interested in far future causes and animal causes. I think that in terms of improving near term well being, animal causes dominate in expectation, but I am still unsure whether they have strong enough long run effects or if more specifically far future causes would be better.
I’m finishing up a philosophy BA right now and I am still trying to decide what to do after. It seems like my comparative advantage is definitely in philosophy or something else that uses verbal reasoning, but I’m not sure if the options are good enough in those areas. I am also interning at ACE and I may end up continuing to do direct work for EA charities if it seems like I would be good enough at it.
I’m looking to skype with people about productivity, career choice, cause selection and for expanding my comfort zone, so contact me if you’d be interested in skyping as well.
I think you may be right that I should pivot more in that direction.
Research on degrees of sentience (including if that idea makes sense) and what degree of sentience different invertebrates have might still be relevant despite the argument that you’re quoting.