Thank you. I will read that.
S
Karma: 169
Thank you for agreeing with me. The reason I used “we are all just collections of atoms” as an argument is because I wanted to show that there is nothing special (apart, of course, from the fact that we can feel pain and joy), about us. I was using it to show that there is no fundamental difference between me and you; or even between me and a wall, for that matter. I was using it to help preface my argument that the self is just an illusion. However, you are right that it might lose some people, and that there are better ways to show that the self is an illusion.
That is an interesting way of thinking about it; I do not necessarily disagree on the arguments I laid out in the original post, I believe we are in agreement there because whether or not you use the “cogs” analogy, my argument essentially still works, because consciousness still gives rise from those electrical signals firing, and pain is bad and happiness is good, and the ultimate goal is to minimize pain and maximize happiness. The cogs analogy works because it also shows how our actions can influence other people’s actions.
However, I disagree on one part. Your argument falls apart when you say that “once every component fits perfectly, chaos would be completely gone. All that would be left would be pure enjoyment and wellbeing.” If everyone was a utilitarian, there would still be suffering because not all suffering is caused by non-utilitarian conscious organisms. Viruses, cancer, similar things will not be stopped by everyone becoming utilitarian. Also, many animals are able to feel pain but are unable to comprehend utilitarianism; they cannot become utilitarian in order to have their cog “fit perfectly” and “entirely eliminate chaos”.
Tell me if I misunderstood your argument, or if I am somewhat missing the point. I enjoyed your writing also.
Thank you. I also researched it further and found that living in a camper van can be like a part time job because of the time it takes to get basic supplies and showers and stuff like that, so I will probably live in a cheap apartment with a few roomates when I grow up.
I’m less keen on the idea of a campervan, but I know a lot of successful EAs who live with other adult EAs to save money and they find it perfectly comfortable.
Thank you, I found this helpful, especially the parts on staying healthy while trying to go vegan-ish and about what charities to donate to. Also I was wondering why everyone thinks it is so bad to live in a camper van, maybe it is but I don’t 100% understand why. I think I would get how it could be said that living with roommates in a relatively cheap apartment would be better versus living alone in a camper van because of the social benefits and not much higher of a cost, but if I lived in a camper van with a roommate versus in an apartment with a roommate I can’t really see a huge difference. Also living alone in a van versus an apartment would not be worse on any grounds I could really see, also I think I specifically might be good at the van life because I have been a boy scout for a while and gone on a lot of camping trips, I honestly would be a good person to live in a tent but I wouldn’t do that because if I did it in the woods I could get attacked by something and if I was in the city it would be dangerous, but I think a camper van would be safe. Also side note, idrk if it’s going to work out the way he imagines it but my younger brother (only about a year younger) wants to live in a camper van when he grows up (for entirely different reasons, he is not an EA, also he might change to decide smth else), so living with him in a camper van (or an apartment) for some time as adults could be a good thing. Just trying to understand why an apartment is considered better that a camper van, ok you didn’t really have the most negative reaction to it but others did.
Alright, I will do that; mostly at this point, unless my family is eating together, I make all my own meals, but they aren’t meals that require much cooking; I usually make a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast (I literally just mix oats and hot water), or like microwave a can of beans for lunch and have half a jar of peanut butter for dinner. I do have some cooking experience, through oy scouts I learned to make a lot of stuff and before I stopped eating eggs I would sometimes cook them for my family. However, that is useful advice; I will try to learn to cook more stuff that I don’t already know how to cook.
post this on Reddit where there are actually a lot of people who will see it, even if it is a less positive response
This is a very interesting comment, I did not even think about this! I will try to do what you say, but I will also do more research on this to make sure that what you say is correct.
Thank you for this comment, I will check those out.
Thank you for the explanation! This clarified a lot of what I was confused about.
Thank you for the idea! I think that I will not use beef as my main protein source, but something like nuts and beans could be good.
I will try to do that, thank you for the idea!
Thank you!
I completely agree with what you are saying, thank you for the comment!
Thank you.
Thank you, this was helpful to read and although I disagree, I do see your points about how this will probably lead to burnout.
Thank you!
Thank you for your input. I know it is very uncertain, and I will look more into the wild animal issues. I realize now that my claims about the high happiness of wild animals may have been largely unfounded, and I will do more research on this and the longtermist effects of both sides.
Thank you! I will check out the sites you recommended. Thank you for your insights into the wild animal issue, and I will look more into how the magnitude of the decisions involving wild animals (as opposed to those which are factory farmed).
Thank you.