Difference between revisions of "The Precipice notes"

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* early on in the book, toby says that you can't buy super crappy versions of things in developed countries because (i forget his reason exactly) but it was something like they're so crappy they've been priced out of the market? or something like that. i think this could be true for ''some'' products, but i'm suspicious it's true for many/most of them? crappy housing for example seems impossible to obtain for super cheap, and i think that has more to do with regulations preventing super crappy housing. i guess this isn't really a question.
 
* early on in the book, toby says that you can't buy super crappy versions of things in developed countries because (i forget his reason exactly) but it was something like they're so crappy they've been priced out of the market? or something like that. i think this could be true for ''some'' products, but i'm suspicious it's true for many/most of them? crappy housing for example seems impossible to obtain for super cheap, and i think that has more to do with regulations preventing super crappy housing. i guess this isn't really a question.
 
* "If we are the only moral agents that will ever arise in our universe—the only beings capable of making choices on the grounds of what is right and wrong—then responsibility for the history of the universe is entirely on us. This is the only chance ever to shape the universe toward what is right, what is just, what is best for all. If we fail, then the potential not just of humanity, but of all moral action, will have been irrevocably squandered." -- it sounds like Toby is still a moral realist. Does this mean that he would expect aliens to also discover moral truths, so that as long as ''some'' civilization spreads to the stars, it's ok if humans go extinct (for non-AI extinctions)?
 
* "If we are the only moral agents that will ever arise in our universe—the only beings capable of making choices on the grounds of what is right and wrong—then responsibility for the history of the universe is entirely on us. This is the only chance ever to shape the universe toward what is right, what is just, what is best for all. If we fail, then the potential not just of humanity, but of all moral action, will have been irrevocably squandered." -- it sounds like Toby is still a moral realist. Does this mean that he would expect aliens to also discover moral truths, so that as long as ''some'' civilization spreads to the stars, it's ok if humans go extinct (for non-AI extinctions)?
 +
* "The theory of how to make decisions when we are uncertain about the moral value of outcomes was almost completely neglected in moral philosophy until very recently—despite the fact that it is precisely our uncertainty about moral matters that leads people to ask for moral advice and, indeed, to do research on moral philosophy at all." -- i think the key phrase here is "in moral philosophy"; moral uncertainty seems to have been discussed extensively even before the references that Ord cites. i don't like this kind of writing, where you say "neglected in X" and you don't emphasize the restriction to X, so the reader might think "neglected in X because X is the only place to discuss this thing", i.e. that the thing has been neglected ''everywhere''.

Revision as of 05:13, 22 April 2020

  • early on in the book, toby says that you can't buy super crappy versions of things in developed countries because (i forget his reason exactly) but it was something like they're so crappy they've been priced out of the market? or something like that. i think this could be true for some products, but i'm suspicious it's true for many/most of them? crappy housing for example seems impossible to obtain for super cheap, and i think that has more to do with regulations preventing super crappy housing. i guess this isn't really a question.
  • "If we are the only moral agents that will ever arise in our universe—the only beings capable of making choices on the grounds of what is right and wrong—then responsibility for the history of the universe is entirely on us. This is the only chance ever to shape the universe toward what is right, what is just, what is best for all. If we fail, then the potential not just of humanity, but of all moral action, will have been irrevocably squandered." -- it sounds like Toby is still a moral realist. Does this mean that he would expect aliens to also discover moral truths, so that as long as some civilization spreads to the stars, it's ok if humans go extinct (for non-AI extinctions)?
  • "The theory of how to make decisions when we are uncertain about the moral value of outcomes was almost completely neglected in moral philosophy until very recently—despite the fact that it is precisely our uncertainty about moral matters that leads people to ask for moral advice and, indeed, to do research on moral philosophy at all." -- i think the key phrase here is "in moral philosophy"; moral uncertainty seems to have been discussed extensively even before the references that Ord cites. i don't like this kind of writing, where you say "neglected in X" and you don't emphasize the restriction to X, so the reader might think "neglected in X because X is the only place to discuss this thing", i.e. that the thing has been neglected everywhere.