I can share the fake happiness of cartoon characters without them actually feeling anything.
So I have no reason to believe the happiness I feel when I see (or hear about) an actual human (or utility monster) being happy has anything to do with their “actual” (unknowable) state of mind.
I believe all that’s happening is that my mind models their happiness in the same limbic system that also runs my own happiness, and the limbic system is less good than the neocortex at keeping representations seperate.
And that limits my enjoyment of someone else well-being to the amount of well-being I can model. If I was severely depressed, my power to imagine happiness would plummet and I’d gain nothing from giving resources to a utility monster because the well-being it’d convert the resources to couldn’t flow back to me.
I can relate to the intuition that our actual motivation to cause SWB for other minds is strongly modulated by our empathy. (That said, there are also intellectual philosophical forms of reasoning, however I think they are practically weaker to motivate actual actions)
If I was severely depressed, my power to imagine happiness would plummet and I’d gain nothing from giving resources to a utility monster because the well-being it’d convert the resources to couldn’t flow back to me.
Ironically, it’s the opposite for me: My depression has increased my desire to see a world that is generally more good than bad, and my idea of good vs. bad reduces itself to hedonistic states mostly, because other values seem more symbolic than “real” to my intuitions (most of the time).
However, the good news is that none of us need to gain strong enjoyment from the modeling of utility monsters. If the path I outlined is realistic, then no step needs much self-sacrifice. A very small fraction of income donations of millions of mildly motivated altruists over several hundred years could cause far more SWB-over-suffering than has ever existed before in nature or human history!
I can share the fake happiness of cartoon characters without them actually feeling anything.
So I have no reason to believe the happiness I feel when I see (or hear about) an actual human (or utility monster) being happy has anything to do with their “actual” (unknowable) state of mind.
I believe all that’s happening is that my mind models their happiness in the same limbic system that also runs my own happiness, and the limbic system is less good than the neocortex at keeping representations seperate.
And that limits my enjoyment of someone else well-being to the amount of well-being I can model. If I was severely depressed, my power to imagine happiness would plummet and I’d gain nothing from giving resources to a utility monster because the well-being it’d convert the resources to couldn’t flow back to me.
I can relate to the intuition that our actual motivation to cause SWB for other minds is strongly modulated by our empathy. (That said, there are also intellectual philosophical forms of reasoning, however I think they are practically weaker to motivate actual actions)
Ironically, it’s the opposite for me: My depression has increased my desire to see a world that is generally more good than bad, and my idea of good vs. bad reduces itself to hedonistic states mostly, because other values seem more symbolic than “real” to my intuitions (most of the time).
However, the good news is that none of us need to gain strong enjoyment from the modeling of utility monsters. If the path I outlined is realistic, then no step needs much self-sacrifice. A very small fraction of income donations of millions of mildly motivated altruists over several hundred years could cause far more SWB-over-suffering than has ever existed before in nature or human history!