As someone who is on the fence between between noncognitivism and deontic/virtue ethics, I seem to be witnessing a kind of incommensurability of ethical theories going on in this thread. It is almost like Alicorn is trying to show us the rabbit, but all we are seeing is the duck and talking about the “rabbit” as if is it some kind of bad metaphor for a duck.
On Less Wrong, consequentialism isn’t just another ethical theory that you can swap in and out of our web of belief. It seems to be something much more central and interwoven. This might be due to the fact that some disciplines like economics implicitly assume some kind of vague utilitarianism and so we let certain ethical theories become more central to our web of belief than is warranted.
I predict that Alicorn would have similar problems trying to get people on Less Wrong to understand Aristotelian physics, since it is really closer to common sense biology than Einsteinian physics (which I am guessing is very central to our web of belief).
You’re confusing “understand” and “accept as useful or true”.
Alicorn’s post was good summary of deontology. I understand it, I just don’t agree with it. Richard Garfinkle’s SF novel Celestial Matters in addition to being a great read, also elucidates some consequences of Aristotelian physics, increasing the intuition of the reader. I certainly think that Garfinkle understands Aristotelian physics, and just as assuredly is unwilling to use it for orbital calculations in practice (though quite capable of doing the same for fiction purposes).
EDIT: reading further in the comments, I do indeed see plenty of people who don’t understand deontic ethics. But just your comment about “not being able to swap in or out” does not at all demonstrate lack of understanding.
EDIT: I’d also appreciate a comment by the person who downvoted me about their reasoning (or anyone else who disagrees with the substance). I obviously think this is fairly straight-forward point—understanding and accepting are two different things. Wanting to swap a framework in or out of our web of belief is not purely about understanding it, but about accepting it. Related, certainly (it really helps to understand something in order to accept it), but not the same.
As someone who is on the fence between between noncognitivism and deontic/virtue ethics, I seem to be witnessing a kind of incommensurability of ethical theories going on in this thread. It is almost like Alicorn is trying to show us the rabbit, but all we are seeing is the duck and talking about the “rabbit” as if is it some kind of bad metaphor for a duck.
On Less Wrong, consequentialism isn’t just another ethical theory that you can swap in and out of our web of belief. It seems to be something much more central and interwoven. This might be due to the fact that some disciplines like economics implicitly assume some kind of vague utilitarianism and so we let certain ethical theories become more central to our web of belief than is warranted.
I predict that Alicorn would have similar problems trying to get people on Less Wrong to understand Aristotelian physics, since it is really closer to common sense biology than Einsteinian physics (which I am guessing is very central to our web of belief).
You’re confusing “understand” and “accept as useful or true”.
Alicorn’s post was good summary of deontology. I understand it, I just don’t agree with it. Richard Garfinkle’s SF novel Celestial Matters in addition to being a great read, also elucidates some consequences of Aristotelian physics, increasing the intuition of the reader. I certainly think that Garfinkle understands Aristotelian physics, and just as assuredly is unwilling to use it for orbital calculations in practice (though quite capable of doing the same for fiction purposes).
EDIT: reading further in the comments, I do indeed see plenty of people who don’t understand deontic ethics. But just your comment about “not being able to swap in or out” does not at all demonstrate lack of understanding.
EDIT: I’d also appreciate a comment by the person who downvoted me about their reasoning (or anyone else who disagrees with the substance). I obviously think this is fairly straight-forward point—understanding and accepting are two different things. Wanting to swap a framework in or out of our web of belief is not purely about understanding it, but about accepting it. Related, certainly (it really helps to understand something in order to accept it), but not the same.