[extropy-chat] Superrationality

[Lee Corbin]

Damien S. writes

> I'm tempted to say that altruistic behavior might be a result of
> superrational programming by controlling genes or memes.  You're not
> thinking through the superrationality, you're just acting it out.

Yes, I think that that's a very good way of looking at it. EvPsych
biologists now consider it to be quite likely that it developed in
the first place from kin altruism.

> There's also whether the Type I superrationals would outcompete the Type
> II rationals, but I guess a rationalist philosopher could argue this
> isn't truly one-shot, if the consequences of the other person doing well
> have payoff for you or your descendants down the road.  One-shot for
> you, not for your genes.  And if you emotionally care about how well
> other Type Is do then that should be part of your payoff matrix.

Yes; we may *explain* the presence of our urges to cooperate in the
NIPD or to be altruistic from evolution, but that's a different matter
from *recommending* a one-shot strategy in the game theory problem.

> Is it rational for you to praise altruism?  *thinks*  Well yes, I guess
> it is selfishly rational to praise altruism in others. :)

I suspect that this is a case where the term "rational" can mislead
us, because it all depends on our values in real-life cases. It *is*
"rational" for me to leave a tip in a restaurant that I'll never
visit again, simply because I'd feel guilty if I didn't. Rationality,
per se, has nothing really vital to do with it.

> Ah, the evolution of potential hypocrisy, where we all urge each
> other to act for the greater good, so we can exploit each other...

Come, now :-)   Isn't that being a tad too cynical?  Most people
who urge others to act for the greater good have strong agents for
so acting themselves, (just not quite so strong as they think).

Lee