As already stated somewhere above, with or without “sacred” values humans invariably believe in thresholds where the expected negative utility jumps exponentially. If I believe that lengthy torture is a vastly different event (for the individual in question, and we clearly aren’t considering any ripples) from a quickly and cleanly amputated limb, I’ll still adjust my preferences accordingly. I’m only acting on my beliefs about human consciousness. That’s not irrational in itself.
Therefore… sorry, tried two intuitive therefores but neither one checks out. I’ll get back on it.
As already stated somewhere above, with or without “sacred” values humans invariably believe in thresholds where the expected negative utility jumps exponentially. If I believe that lengthy torture is a vastly different event (for the individual in question, and we clearly aren’t considering any ripples) from a quickly and cleanly amputated limb, I’ll still adjust my preferences accordingly. I’m only acting on my beliefs about human consciousness. That’s not irrational in itself. Therefore… sorry, tried two intuitive therefores but neither one checks out. I’ll get back on it.