[ExI] Morality research

[Stefano Vaj]

On 13 November 2011 15:08, Anders Sandberg <anders at aleph.se> wrote:

> Lack of morality is rarely a benefit: it impairs the ability to work well
> in long-term alliances.
>

I maintain that a difference exists between ethics and ethology. In turn,

The latter is obviously moulded by selective pressures, but depending on
the context the same pressures may well make "good deeds" the obvious
choice for a rational utility-maximising agent.

If this is the case we have conformity and compliance at best, but this
does not really seem to have much to do with moral, morality or moral
philosophy, which mostly deal with one's ability to act *against* his or
her own interest and/or pulsions.

As to playing with our ethology or "istincts", as a transhumanist I
certainly abhor any kind of prohibitionism thereupon, but we should think
long and hard about what we would like to do and why. Besides bioluddites'
platitudes on zombies, brainwashing, slave-breeding eugencis, etc.,
excessive empathy or conformism to social norms not only would
significantly degrade the quality of life of the bearer, but would reveal
problematic in the fields of, say, surgery, education, law enforcement,
business, human resources, etc,.

-- 
Stefano Vaj
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