[extropy-chat] The Good

[Lee Corbin]

Jef writes

> Increasing awareness of principles of what works (increasingly
> objective scientific/instrumental knowledge), applied to increasing
> awareness of our (increasingly intersubjective) values that work over
> increasing scope, leads to what is seen as increasingly moral
> decision-making.

May I paraphrase?  You "what works" always sounds as though it favors
expediency and the end over the means. Since you don't mean that, my
advice is to stop using the phrase; believe me, you'll have a lot 
better luck doing that than trying to *persuade* people to stop using
words the way they presently do, and start using them the way you do.

  "Increasing awareness of principles of objective scientific/
  instrumental knowledge, applied to increasing awareness of
  our values, leads to ever greater moral decision-making.

  "It should also be said that over time our values become
  more and more intersubjective, and are applicable over
  a larger scope."

:-) This allows folks to read what you write without going on
a conscious hunt for the verb!

You might add something to mollify those, like me, who deny that
anything is objectively moral, and so might be prone to dismiss
what you are saying out of hand:  "Here it is understood that by
"moral" is meant that which is in maximal agreement with what is
deemed moral by most religions and cultures, and appears to be
innately human", or something like that.

> The practical application of that understanding is that it becomes
> clear that (1) we *can* increasingly agree on certain choices being
> better than other choices, and (2) we *should* facilitate this process
> of increasingly moral decision-making by intentionally building a
> technological framework to increase our awareness of our values and
> our instrumental knowledge and apply them to social decision-making.

Well, what kind of technological framework could increase our 
awareness of our collective human values?

> I wish I knew how to factor out (to abstract) all those
> "increasing's", but it's all about evolutionary growth and the Red
> Queen would agree that standing still is never an option.

Well, that's where maybe I've helped!  :-)

> I do intend to write a more thorough exposition of this "Arrow of
> Morality" thinking, and I value your interaction as contributing to
> making my message clearer.

You are welcome.

Lee

P.S.  More later.