From: Matt Mahoney (matmahoney@yahoo.com)
Date: Tue Mar 04 2008 - 19:53:54 MST
--- Lee Corbin <lcorbin@rawbw.com> wrote:
> Matt writes
>
> > Lee Corbin wrote:
> >
> >> Krekoski writes
> >>
> >> > Why is whether something has experience or not even relevant?
> >>
> >> Because all moral questions revolve around the answer! And so unless
> >> you are a complete nihilist, solipsist, or sociopath, all actions
> whatsoever
> >> that affect other sentients depend crucially upon the answer.
> >
> > No it doesn't. Morality evolved (memetically) because it increases
> overall
> > fitness of the tribe. Thus, hunting, war, and judicial punishment are
> > permitted.
>
> Of course. And you do account nicely for its existence and properties
>
> What I was saying is that *your* own morality, e.g. the answers you would
> provide to morally challenging questions, depends utterly on the experiences
> you expect others to have.
>
> This is obvious. For example, if you could prevent extreme pain from
> afflicting one of two creatures of your acquaintance, and you are having
> a hard time deciding, the question is immediately resolved were you
> to learn the truth that one was a robot incapable of sensation.
>
> So, you see, whether something has experience or can be extremely relevant.
>
> > There is no test to tell whether something has experiences or just
> expresses
> > belief in experience.
>
> Yes. But there will still be a fact of the matter, whether or not we are
> able to learn it.
The fact is that experience doesn't exist. Of course you will disagree. So
will the robot.
-- Matt Mahoney, matmahoney@yahoo.com
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