Thinking about it this way also makes me realise how weird it feels to have different preferences for myself as opposed to other people. It feels obvious to me that I would prefer to have other humans not cease to exist in the ways you described. And yet for myself, because of the lack of a personal utility function when I’m unconscious, it seems like the answer could be different—if I cease to exist, others might care, but I won’t (at the time!).
Maybe one way to think about it more realistically is not to focus on what my preferences will be then (since I won’t exist), but on what my preferences are now, and somehow extend that into the future regardless of the existence of a personal utility function at that future time...
Thinking about it this way also makes me realise how weird it feels to have different preferences for myself as opposed to other people. It feels obvious to me that I would prefer to have other humans not cease to exist in the ways you described. And yet for myself, because of the lack of a personal utility function when I’m unconscious, it seems like the answer could be different—if I cease to exist, others might care, but I won’t (at the time!).
Maybe one way to think about it more realistically is not to focus on what my preferences will be then (since I won’t exist), but on what my preferences are now, and somehow extend that into the future regardless of the existence of a personal utility function at that future time...
Thanks for the help!