[extropy-chat] Article: "Laughter at people's fears"

[Harvey Newstrom]

On Dec 24, 2004, at 3:00 PM, Hal Finney wrote:

> Your list conflates several different kinds of issues and produces some
> misleading results.

I was merely listing things that scare the public.  For that purpose, 
all the things I listed apply.  Your list provides further details 
about why each item is scary, and then groups them into categories.  
Good work!  I think this further supports my point rather than refuting 
it.

> In the same way, I think we should distinguish items on your list which
> are immoral because they involve manipulating people or doing things to
> them without their consent, from items which don't have this property 
> but
> which you personally don't like.  You may have unintentionally slipped
> some of your personal dislikes in among a list of immoral actions.  
> Here
> is how I would categorize them:

Agreed.  My list was from the public's point of view.  To determine 
which items belong and which don't, we certainly do need further 
analysis.

> Immoral actions because of lack of consent:
> Immoral actions because of manipulation:
> Questionable morality depending on the circumstances in terms of
> whether consent was achieved:
> Beliefs without issues of consent

I think we are agreed on all these categories.  It looks like most of 
my points definitely belong in the list of scary things.

> As for the last three, they are beliefs about the nature of reality and
> are not moral questions.

Yes, but they imply moral choices based on questionable or 
controversial beliefs.  People who hold these beliefs tend to impose 
their choices on people who don't hold these beliefs.  Unless there is 
a general consensus about the nature of reality, such decisions are 
nothing more than "faith-based" programs.

--
Harvey Newstrom <HarveyNewstrom.com>
CISSP, ISSAP, ISSMP, CISA, CISM, IAM, IBMCP, GSEC