I’ve rarely heard “You’ll understand when you’re older” on questions of simple fact. Usually, it’s uttered when someone who claims to be altruistic points out someone else’s actions are harmful. The Old Cynic then tells the Young Idealist “I used to be like you, but then I realized you’ve got to be realistic, you’ll understand when you’re older that you should be more selfish.”. But they never actually offer an object-level argument, or even seem to have changed their minds for rational reasons—it looks like the Selfishness Fairy just changed their terminal values as they grew older. That may be the case; it may also be sour grapes bias: when they realized their altruism could never have as big an effect as it ought to, they decided altruism wasn’t right after all. The best defense I can come up with is: If your moral intuitions change, especially change in a way you’ve previously noticed as “maturing”, only trust them if your justifications for it would convice your past self as their most idealistic.
Is this “stupid teeneager” thing real, or just a stereotype that sells books? I’ve seen teenagers drink and drive; they don’t look like they do it to look adult. I’ve tried some drugs and turned others down, and the only things that (I’m aware) factored were what I could learn from the experience, how pleasant it would be, and the risks. I consciously ignored peer pressure—as for looking mature, I simply didn’t even consider it could be a criterion any more than the parity of my number of nose hair.
I’ve rarely heard “You’ll understand when you’re older” on questions of simple fact. Usually, it’s uttered when someone who claims to be altruistic points out someone else’s actions are harmful. The Old Cynic then tells the Young Idealist “I used to be like you, but then I realized you’ve got to be realistic, you’ll understand when you’re older that you should be more selfish.”. But they never actually offer an object-level argument, or even seem to have changed their minds for rational reasons—it looks like the Selfishness Fairy just changed their terminal values as they grew older. That may be the case; it may also be sour grapes bias: when they realized their altruism could never have as big an effect as it ought to, they decided altruism wasn’t right after all. The best defense I can come up with is: If your moral intuitions change, especially change in a way you’ve previously noticed as “maturing”, only trust them if your justifications for it would convice your past self as their most idealistic.
Is this “stupid teeneager” thing real, or just a stereotype that sells books? I’ve seen teenagers drink and drive; they don’t look like they do it to look adult. I’ve tried some drugs and turned others down, and the only things that (I’m aware) factored were what I could learn from the experience, how pleasant it would be, and the risks. I consciously ignored peer pressure—as for looking mature, I simply didn’t even consider it could be a criterion any more than the parity of my number of nose hair.