[ExI] Effectiveness of democracy as a result of selection bias

[Stathis Papaioannou]

2009/7/2 Aware <aware at awareresearch.com>:

> "Adjusting desire" and the notion of "intrinsic good" are examples of
> appealing but incoherent (paradoxical, self-referential, unmodelable)
> notions popular at the Science Fiction level of philosophical thought.
>  They are indeed at a level of sophistication above that of the
> popular masses, but sadly, too many of us remain at that level as if
> enamored of the (relatively) superior view.

But *something* would happen if people could adjust their desires to
be more in keeping with their notion of what was intrinsically
worthwhile. For example, someone with a weight problem might decrease
his propensity to overeat and increase his motivation to exercise.
This is what people try to do already, but often with little success
for great effort. The ability to directly modify your mind to achieve
this would change everything.


-- 
Stathis Papaioannou