Saving consequentialism and utilitarianism from the trolley car

From Bryan Caplan What’s Wrong With the Rationality Community,in which he criticizes utilitarianism and consequentialism: The first is consequentialist (or more specifically utilitarian) ethics. This view is vulnerable to many well-known, devastating counter-examples. But most people in the rationality community hastily and dogmatically reject them. Why? I say it’s aesthetic: One-sentence, algorithmic theories have great… Continue reading Saving consequentialism and utilitarianism from the trolley car

Utilitarianism and Consequentialism

There is some renewed debate about whether ‘Friendly AI’ can blackmail, also known as the Roko’s Basilisk problem. More information about it can be found here, here, here, and here. I’m kinda amazed by how much attention this has gotten, with stories even on Business Insider about the thought experiment. Roko’s Basilisk addresses an as-yet-nonexistent… Continue reading Utilitarianism and Consequentialism

Classical Liberalism, Democracy, Libtertarianism, Nihilism, and NRx

From Peter A. Taylor The Resurrection of Classical Liberalism Here’s what I think happened. The US began as an expression of classical liberalism. The founders were steeped in John Locke’s ideas about natural rights, as modified and popularized by writers like James Otis, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson. What actually made it into the American… Continue reading Classical Liberalism, Democracy, Libtertarianism, Nihilism, and NRx