For what it is worth, I think Villiam_Bur is completely right that personal identity (as Graham means the term) is the mindkiller. Thus, all personal identity discussion should be viewed with exactly the skepticism of political discussion.
The problem is that discussions of these types of topic seem to incorrectly assume that they are not discussing personal identity, and so don’t need to be wary of the mindkiller.
There’s a potential issue in keeping your identity small; I’ve noticed it within myself: I dislike people who don’t. It annoys the hell out of me, and I regard them as part of the outgroup.
Which suggests to me that “keeping your identity small” (“individualism,” loosely speaking) is part of my identity.
I’m not sure if this is an actual problem, so for now I simply keep it in the back of my mind as a potential biasing factor.
Which suggests to me that “keeping your identity small” (“individualism,” loosely speaking) is part of my identity.
I think incorporating Graham’s lesson is valuable to being rational.
That said, I don’t think “individualism” is the only way to keep your identity small. For example, a collectivist is perfectly capable of having a small identity.
On the one hand, having fewer identifiers seems a useful definition; it means fewer potential points of bias.
On the other, having fewer -shared- identifiers -also- seems a useful definition; it means fewer potential agents you are going to share a bias with. From the individualist perspective, you want the most accurate information for yourself, and you’re less likely to regard ideas from the ingroup with sufficient criticism. But from the collectivist perspective, you want the most accurate information for your group, which suggests that the rationalist collectivist doesn’t include the collective as part of their identity.
In this context, individualist and collectivist are labels that describe an agent’s preferred social arrangements and social norms. There’s nothing about keeping one’s identity small that prohibits one from having a higher priority for group preferences than individual preferences.
For what it is worth, I think Villiam_Bur is completely right that personal identity (as Graham means the term) is the mindkiller. Thus, all personal identity discussion should be viewed with exactly the skepticism of political discussion.
The problem is that discussions of these types of topic seem to incorrectly assume that they are not discussing personal identity, and so don’t need to be wary of the mindkiller.
There’s a potential issue in keeping your identity small; I’ve noticed it within myself: I dislike people who don’t. It annoys the hell out of me, and I regard them as part of the outgroup.
Which suggests to me that “keeping your identity small” (“individualism,” loosely speaking) is part of my identity.
I’m not sure if this is an actual problem, so for now I simply keep it in the back of my mind as a potential biasing factor.
I think incorporating Graham’s lesson is valuable to being rational.
That said, I don’t think “individualism” is the only way to keep your identity small. For example, a collectivist is perfectly capable of having a small identity.
Now I ponder what “small” means, exactly.
On the one hand, having fewer identifiers seems a useful definition; it means fewer potential points of bias.
On the other, having fewer -shared- identifiers -also- seems a useful definition; it means fewer potential agents you are going to share a bias with. From the individualist perspective, you want the most accurate information for yourself, and you’re less likely to regard ideas from the ingroup with sufficient criticism. But from the collectivist perspective, you want the most accurate information for your group, which suggests that the rationalist collectivist doesn’t include the collective as part of their identity.
Unless I miss an alternative logic?
I don’t think Graham expects one’s identifiers not be shared with others. He’s arguing the point more in line with your first definition, in that the more aspects you add to your personal identity, the more sources of bias one must avoid. As Graham says, “all other things being equal, the best plan is to let as few things into your identity as possible.”
In this context, individualist and collectivist are labels that describe an agent’s preferred social arrangements and social norms. There’s nothing about keeping one’s identity small that prohibits one from having a higher priority for group preferences than individual preferences.