[extropy-chat] In defense of moral standards (Was: In defense of moral relativism)

[Eliezer S. Yudkowsky]

Giu1i0 Pri5c0 wrote:
> Not quite. Jeff's interpretation is correct: I am only challenging the
> notion of external, objective *morality*. You may have been misled by
> my using the term "Truth" in the sentence quoted below. I am using it
> as shorthand for "Moral Truth".
> I challenge the notion of external, objective morality because 1) it
> cannnot have any positive effect (demonstration: I try to be kind to
> children anyway without basing it on metaphysics), and 2) it can have
> strong negative effects (demonstration: read the first history book
> that you find).
> As far as the notion of external, objective reality is concerned, I do
> not doubt its usefulness and core validity (even if I think it may be
> a bit more complex than we currently appreciate).

Okay.  Sorry, then.

-- 
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky                          http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence