Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Re28-NOTES.pdf
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Re28-NOTES.pdf
(The below text version of the notes is for search purposes and convenience. See the PDF version for proper formatting such as bold, italics, etc., and graphics where applicable. Copyright: 2022 Retraice, Inc.)
Re28: What's Good? RTFM
Retraice^1
Is the world model right, true, fit and mixed?
Air date: Monday, 24th Oct. 2022, 11:50 PM Eastern/US.
Is the world model good?
The basic thing we need to know about the model^2 itself: Is it worth our time?
Our time is valuable. Is the world model valuable enough to spend time paying attention to it? (We can and do ask the same question about Retraice itself.)
Why do you ask?
Why do we need a world model? 1. We need to know what's going on out there because:
(a) Space: There's fun and doom to be had^3 , which causes us feelings.
(b) Time: Real deadlines require us to act with imperfect knowledge, or else miss the fun and succumb to doom (i.e. you must act now, see below).
2. But it's hard to know what's going on out there because `out there' is so big and complicated (i.e. analysis is a tar pit, see below).^4
How would we know? RTFM
How do we know if WM4 is good? `Good' has more than one meaning. (Indeed, G.E. Moore^5 says it can't be defined.) Here are four senses of the word `good':
1. Right: moral and ethical.
(a) Caring^6 about the doom (micro, partial, individual^7) of others?
(b) Schopenhauer's `compassion'?^8
(c) Kierkegaard's `be[ing] that self which one truly is, ...the opposite of despair'?^9
(d) Scanlon's `contractualism'?^10
(e) MacAskill's `effective altruism'?^11
In ethics and morality, there have been many good thoughts and insights, but there's no morality if we're dead. So...
2. True: Accurate, resembling reality.^12
3. Fit: Effective for survival and thriving, i.e. goals.^13
4. Mixed: a good mix of 1-3, i.e. well-placed in the 3D space of RTF.
RTFM is a `good model', a model of `the good' to be incorporated into our world model.
Two problems with RTFM
The problems with `good' are the same as the problems that give rise to the world model: * 1st problem: `analysis is a tar pit'^14 , similar to `big and complicated' above. * 2nd problem: `you must act now', similar to `real deadlines' above.
On these two problems, consider the Cold War strategist and diplomat George Kennan, as quoted by Beckley and Brands:
"Just weeks after taking charge at the [Policy Planning Staff], [Kennan] had already concluded that it was impossible to come up with perfect answers to an avalanche of problems. `The only way we could ever hope to solve them would be if we could persuade the world to stand still for six months while we sit down and think it over,' he said. `But life does not stand still, and the resulting confusion is terrific."'^15
__
References
Beckley, M., & Brands, H. (2022). Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 978-1324021315. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781324021315 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+9781324021315 https://lccn.loc.gov/2022026775
Dennett, D. C. (1996). Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution And The Meanings Of Life. Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 068482471X. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=068482471X https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+068482471X https://lccn.loc.gov/94049158
Frankfurt, H. G. (1988). The Importance of What We Care About. Cambridge. ISBN: 978-0521336116. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=978-0521336116 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+978-0521336116 https://lccn.loc.gov/87026941
Hoffman, D. (2019). The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 978-0393254693. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=978-0393254693 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+978-0393254693 https://lccn.loc.gov/2019006962
Honderich, T. (Ed.) (2005). Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press, 2nd ed. ISBN: 0199264791. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=0199264791 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+0199264791 https://lccn.loc.gov/2005275452
Kierkegaard, S. (2013). Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death. Princeton University Press. ISBN: 978-0691158310. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9780691158310 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+9780691158310 https://lccn.loc.gov/2012955513
Lewis-Kraus, G. (2022). The reluctant prophet of effective altruism. The New Yorker. 8th Aug. 2022. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/the-reluctant-prophet-of-effective-altruism Retrieved 24th Oct. 2022.
Moore, G. E. (1903). Principia Ethica. Cambridge, 1922 reprint ed. No ISBN. https://archive.org/details/principiaethica53430gut Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=PRINCIPIA+ETHICA https://www.google.com/search?q=PRINCIPIA+ETHICA https://lccn.loc.gov/04026925
Retraice (2020/09/07). Re1: Three Kinds of Intelligence. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re1 Retrieved 22nd Sep. 2020.
Retraice (2020/11/10). Re13: The Care Factor. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re13 Retrieved 10th Nov. 2020.
Retraice (2022/03/02). Re16: Trust is a Response. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re16 Retrieved 6th Mar. 2022.
Retraice (2022/10/19). Re23: You Need a World Model. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re23 Retrieved 20th Oct. 2022.
Retraice (2022/10/23). Re27: Now That's a World Model - WM4. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re27 Retrieved 24th Oct. 2022.
Russell, B. (1948). Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits. Routledge. First published in 1948. This edition 1992. ISBN: 0415083028. Searches: https://archive.org/search.php?query=Human%20Knowledge%3A%20Its%20Scope%20and%20Limits https://www.amazon.com/s?k=0415083028 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+0415083028 https://lccn.loc.gov/94209784
Schopenhauer, A. (2014). The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 978-1107414747. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781107414747 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+9781107414747 https://lccn.loc.gov/2009012830
Footnotes
^1 https://www.retraice.com/retraice
^2 Retraice (2022/10/23).
^3 Retraice (2022/10/23).
^4 Retraice (2022/10/19).
^5 Honderich (2005) p. 348.
^6 See Frankfurt (1988) and Retraice (2020/11/10) on caring.
^7 Retraice (2022/10/23). Local and global threat models do care about others, but probably for selfish reasons.
^8 Schopenhauer (2014) p. xiii.
^9 Kierkegaard (2013) p. 281.
^10 Honderich (2005) p. 838.
^11 Lewis-Kraus (2022).
^12 Russell (1948) p. 526 on true expectations of nature. See also Retraice (2020/09/07).
^13 See Hoffman (2019), especially his `FBT' (fitness beats truth) hypothesis, chpt. 4, and Retraice (2022/03/02). See also Dennett (1996) chpt. 3 on Darwinism as a `universal acid test' of ideas, and Frankfurt (1988) pp. 124-130 on the bullshitter's indifference to truth in favor of whatever serves his purpose, which could be anything.
^14 See, for example, the analytical TOC of Moore (1903), pp. xiii-xxvii.
^15 Beckley & Brands (2022) p. 148.
View all episodes
By Retraice, Inc.(The below text version of the notes is for search purposes and convenience. See the PDF version for proper formatting such as bold, italics, etc., and graphics where applicable. Copyright: 2022 Retraice, Inc.)
Re28: What's Good? RTFM
Retraice^1
Is the world model right, true, fit and mixed?
Air date: Monday, 24th Oct. 2022, 11:50 PM Eastern/US.
Is the world model good?
The basic thing we need to know about the model^2 itself: Is it worth our time?
Our time is valuable. Is the world model valuable enough to spend time paying attention to it? (We can and do ask the same question about Retraice itself.)
Why do you ask?
Why do we need a world model? 1. We need to know what's going on out there because:
(a) Space: There's fun and doom to be had^3 , which causes us feelings.
(b) Time: Real deadlines require us to act with imperfect knowledge, or else miss the fun and succumb to doom (i.e. you must act now, see below).
2. But it's hard to know what's going on out there because `out there' is so big and complicated (i.e. analysis is a tar pit, see below).^4
How would we know? RTFM
How do we know if WM4 is good? `Good' has more than one meaning. (Indeed, G.E. Moore^5 says it can't be defined.) Here are four senses of the word `good':
1. Right: moral and ethical.
(a) Caring^6 about the doom (micro, partial, individual^7) of others?
(b) Schopenhauer's `compassion'?^8
(c) Kierkegaard's `be[ing] that self which one truly is, ...the opposite of despair'?^9
(d) Scanlon's `contractualism'?^10
(e) MacAskill's `effective altruism'?^11
In ethics and morality, there have been many good thoughts and insights, but there's no morality if we're dead. So...
2. True: Accurate, resembling reality.^12
3. Fit: Effective for survival and thriving, i.e. goals.^13
4. Mixed: a good mix of 1-3, i.e. well-placed in the 3D space of RTF.
RTFM is a `good model', a model of `the good' to be incorporated into our world model.
Two problems with RTFM
The problems with `good' are the same as the problems that give rise to the world model: * 1st problem: `analysis is a tar pit'^14 , similar to `big and complicated' above. * 2nd problem: `you must act now', similar to `real deadlines' above.
On these two problems, consider the Cold War strategist and diplomat George Kennan, as quoted by Beckley and Brands:
"Just weeks after taking charge at the [Policy Planning Staff], [Kennan] had already concluded that it was impossible to come up with perfect answers to an avalanche of problems. `The only way we could ever hope to solve them would be if we could persuade the world to stand still for six months while we sit down and think it over,' he said. `But life does not stand still, and the resulting confusion is terrific."'^15
__
References
Beckley, M., & Brands, H. (2022). Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 978-1324021315. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781324021315 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+9781324021315 https://lccn.loc.gov/2022026775
Dennett, D. C. (1996). Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution And The Meanings Of Life. Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 068482471X. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=068482471X https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+068482471X https://lccn.loc.gov/94049158
Frankfurt, H. G. (1988). The Importance of What We Care About. Cambridge. ISBN: 978-0521336116. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=978-0521336116 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+978-0521336116 https://lccn.loc.gov/87026941
Hoffman, D. (2019). The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN: 978-0393254693. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=978-0393254693 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+978-0393254693 https://lccn.loc.gov/2019006962
Honderich, T. (Ed.) (2005). Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press, 2nd ed. ISBN: 0199264791. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=0199264791 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+0199264791 https://lccn.loc.gov/2005275452
Kierkegaard, S. (2013). Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death. Princeton University Press. ISBN: 978-0691158310. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9780691158310 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+9780691158310 https://lccn.loc.gov/2012955513
Lewis-Kraus, G. (2022). The reluctant prophet of effective altruism. The New Yorker. 8th Aug. 2022. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/the-reluctant-prophet-of-effective-altruism Retrieved 24th Oct. 2022.
Moore, G. E. (1903). Principia Ethica. Cambridge, 1922 reprint ed. No ISBN. https://archive.org/details/principiaethica53430gut Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=PRINCIPIA+ETHICA https://www.google.com/search?q=PRINCIPIA+ETHICA https://lccn.loc.gov/04026925
Retraice (2020/09/07). Re1: Three Kinds of Intelligence. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re1 Retrieved 22nd Sep. 2020.
Retraice (2020/11/10). Re13: The Care Factor. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re13 Retrieved 10th Nov. 2020.
Retraice (2022/03/02). Re16: Trust is a Response. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re16 Retrieved 6th Mar. 2022.
Retraice (2022/10/19). Re23: You Need a World Model. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re23 Retrieved 20th Oct. 2022.
Retraice (2022/10/23). Re27: Now That's a World Model - WM4. retraice.com. https://www.retraice.com/segments/re27 Retrieved 24th Oct. 2022.
Russell, B. (1948). Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits. Routledge. First published in 1948. This edition 1992. ISBN: 0415083028. Searches: https://archive.org/search.php?query=Human%20Knowledge%3A%20Its%20Scope%20and%20Limits https://www.amazon.com/s?k=0415083028 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+0415083028 https://lccn.loc.gov/94209784
Schopenhauer, A. (2014). The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 978-1107414747. Searches: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781107414747 https://www.google.com/search?q=isbn+9781107414747 https://lccn.loc.gov/2009012830
Footnotes
^1 https://www.retraice.com/retraice
^2 Retraice (2022/10/23).
^3 Retraice (2022/10/23).
^4 Retraice (2022/10/19).
^5 Honderich (2005) p. 348.
^6 See Frankfurt (1988) and Retraice (2020/11/10) on caring.
^7 Retraice (2022/10/23). Local and global threat models do care about others, but probably for selfish reasons.
^8 Schopenhauer (2014) p. xiii.
^9 Kierkegaard (2013) p. 281.
^10 Honderich (2005) p. 838.
^11 Lewis-Kraus (2022).
^12 Russell (1948) p. 526 on true expectations of nature. See also Retraice (2020/09/07).
^13 See Hoffman (2019), especially his `FBT' (fitness beats truth) hypothesis, chpt. 4, and Retraice (2022/03/02). See also Dennett (1996) chpt. 3 on Darwinism as a `universal acid test' of ideas, and Frankfurt (1988) pp. 124-130 on the bullshitter's indifference to truth in favor of whatever serves his purpose, which could be anything.
^14 See, for example, the analytical TOC of Moore (1903), pp. xiii-xxvii.
^15 Beckley & Brands (2022) p. 148.