Do you care about it? It sounds like you’re responding appropriately (though IMO it’s better that such arguments be public and be refuted publicly, as otherwise they present a danger to people who are smart or lucky enough to think up the argument but not the refutation). If the generation of that argument, or what it implies about your brain, is causing trouble with your life then it’s worth investigating, but if it’s not bothering you then such investigation might not be worth the cost.
though IMO it’s better that such arguments be public and be refuted publicly, as otherwise they present a danger to people who are smart or lucky enough to think up the argument but not the refutation
This is the sort of thing I’m thinking about. The argument seems more robust than the obvious-to-me counterargument, so I feel that it’s better to just not set people thinking about it. I’m not sure though.
If the argument is simple enough for your brain to generate it spontaneously, someone else has probably thought of it before and not released a mind plague upon humanity. There could even be an established literature on the subject in philosophy journals. Have you done a search?
The argument may not have good keywords and be ungooglable. If that’s the case, you could (a) discuss with a friendly neighborhood professional philosopher or (2) pay a philosophy grad student $25 to bounce your idea off them.
I quickly brainstormed 6 (rather bad) reasons killing everyone in the world would satisfy someone’s values. How do these reasons compare in persuasiveness? If your reason isn’t much better than I don’t think you have much to worry about.
Do you care about it? It sounds like you’re responding appropriately (though IMO it’s better that such arguments be public and be refuted publicly, as otherwise they present a danger to people who are smart or lucky enough to think up the argument but not the refutation). If the generation of that argument, or what it implies about your brain, is causing trouble with your life then it’s worth investigating, but if it’s not bothering you then such investigation might not be worth the cost.
This is the sort of thing I’m thinking about. The argument seems more robust than the obvious-to-me counterargument, so I feel that it’s better to just not set people thinking about it. I’m not sure though.
If the argument is simple enough for your brain to generate it spontaneously, someone else has probably thought of it before and not released a mind plague upon humanity. There could even be an established literature on the subject in philosophy journals. Have you done a search?
The argument may not have good keywords and be ungooglable. If that’s the case, you could (a) discuss with a friendly neighborhood professional philosopher or (2) pay a philosophy grad student $25 to bounce your idea off them.
I quickly brainstormed 6 (rather bad) reasons killing everyone in the world would satisfy someone’s values. How do these reasons compare in persuasiveness? If your reason isn’t much better than I don’t think you have much to worry about.