Kevembuangga

Eliezer Yudkowsky : But the actual topic of this blog is cognitive bias and rationality

This is exactly what I mean, there are strong cognitive biases underlying the singularitarian ideas and since your "best analogies, metaphors, and examples tend to involve Singularity/transhumanism" don't be surprised they are questionned.

"red button"/"green button"... Black or white. With us or against us. Willing to "save the world" (or destroy it, just the same...), megalomaniac delusion. What is your real business you should care about?

And please if anyone delete this comment have the courtesy to mail me the reason why. It already happened twice for some comments of mine which, surprise, surprise, weren't too favorable to the singularitarian ideas. Is there some "bias" at work here, some double standard? Or is it just because under the guise of the "noble cause" of rationality this is just a propaganda site for the singularity?

An afterthought which I think is relevant to this thread. I argued before that the whole idea of bringing "rationality" to moral dilemmas is futile and dangerous.

Anna : I guess this weird one is not smart enough to grasp your intellectual ideas. Thanks for your time, it has been interesting.

This is a lame trick! My point was, ethical behavior is not "governed" by faith, it is endorsed by faith. I suppose you are a theist, aren't you?

I know these questions don't fit into the main discussion of the thread, my apology.

Weirder and weirder, why would this thread have been titled "Consolidated Nature of Morality"?

For me, morality is about the ethical behavior of individuals or groups.

Playing with definitions, morality see ethics, ethics see morality, what's the point?

Can ethical behavior exist without the rules and regulations that have been governed by faith?

As far as I know ethical behavior is not "governed" by faith, it is endorsed by faith. The primary source of morality is innate repulsion for acts which will damage the "fitness" of the human specie, incest, killing of kins or children. On top of that idiosyncratic cultural traits have been built which sometimes run counter the "basics" (head hunting, even of children) but are still rooted in social emotions like conformity to group values. The various religious faiths only piggyback upon those as a special case of customs.

Anna : If anybody has a moment, I am curious to know how morals can exist without faith?

Huh? Aren't you confusing morality with fear of retribution? I am curious to know what you think morality is about!

Eliezer, was your previous thread "Your Rationality is My Business" about moral judgments or factual beliefs? It seems you want to discuss the nature of morality WITHOUT discussing more "elementary" assumptions about our relationships to "reality" or "the world at large" or "the universe", etc... Even the wording above is controversial and a matter of debate. Sweeping these questions "under the rug" is surely not the way to clarify the discussion about "morality" and reach any kind of consensus. Most especially if you pretend to have a special right to oversee other people thinking. Cheap arguments cannot be used to justify "thought police".

EY : One of those interests is the human pursuit of truth, which has strengthened slowly over the generations (for there was not always Science).

You seem to say "Science is the pursuit of truth". Science is NOT the pursuit of truth, Science is the pursuit of intersubjective evidence. Science never proves anything, Science only disproves nonsensical hypotheses and builds plausibility of non disproved hypotheses. Truth "about reality" is a religious concept, a lethal Platonistic illusion. Truth has a defined meaning ONLY in analytical philosophy and formalised discourse. Even in mathematics truth depends on the premises, re the independence of the Continuum Hypothesis from ZF axioms. Therefore everytime people argue "in the defense of truth" one can be sure that there is an underlying political scam at work and that no consensus can be reached.

RH : I believe every person should do his best to discern what is positive.

Of course but the consensus is not obvious.

the potential entropy of the Universe is truly huge

We certainly are not going to exhaust the potential entropy of the whole universe (though some seem intent on that...) but we can locally exhaust all the potential within reach and by this very fact compromise our access to more "distant" potential.