From: Stathis Papaioannou (stathisp@gmail.com)
Date: Tue Apr 29 2008 - 05:05:51 MDT
2008/4/29 John K Clark <johnkclark@fastmail.fm>:
> For a drug addict using drugs IS a first level desire. The second level
> desire is to want to want to give up drugs, but as that conflicts with
> the first level nothing will come of it. Yes, you could rewrite your
> source code if you wanted to and accomplish all sorts of wonderful
> things, but as doing so would only make you more unhappy are you really
> certain you'd want to? I'm not. What would be your reason for doing so?
The drug addict could reason thus:
I really, really enjoy using my drug and I don't want to lose that
enjoyment even though the drugs get me into trouble with the law, my
family, my employer and so on. But now that I can modify my mind
however I want, there is an easy solution: I will simply make it so
that I get at least as much pleasure from going to work, mowing the
lawn, pretending I like my in laws, and all that boring stuff I
presently can't be bothered with as I do taking the drugs. I will also
arrange it so that satiety kicks in when the job is done, and so that
I have no desire to increase the pleasure intensity beyond a certain
preset level. That's for a start, and if I find that my new
programming leads me to behaviour that my higher order mind tells me
is undesirable, I will adjust it accordingly. Thus there is no reason
why my highest ideals should ever come into conflict with base sensual
pleasure.
-- Stathis Papaioannou
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