Comments on: DeLong Shot

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 14:39:00 +0000

A philosophical nitpick: technically, assuming that it is anything like the end of the matter what we want to do when confronted with Nozick’s expereince machine gives far too much argumentative ground to the subjectivist straight away, because, after all, if we’re not all subjectivists, at least some of us think that things other than what we want matter. I think there are situations in which I might want to go into the experience machine, but I’d be wrong to do so.

By: Kenny Easwaran

Kenny Easwaran — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 21:35:00 +0000

Just a little nitpick, but isn’t reading your own philosophical theories into other people’s heads normally considered charity rather than uncharity? I mean, they’re less likely to come out saying something that seems (to you) obviously false that way. Though I guess you’re right that in this case it’s uncharity, because it makes your claims senseless rather than merely false.

And just for the record, I’m willing to plug in to the machine too. Someone should do an actual study on what responses people actually give. I’ve had too many people tell me that platonism is the position of the man on the street to believe everything philosophers tell me is the opinion of the man on the street.

By: Will Wilkinson

Will Wilkinson — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 16:24:00 +0000

Yes! Freak.

By: Micha Ghertner

Micha Ghertner — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 16:23:00 +0000

There is a normal reaction to the experience machine? Does that make my reaction abnormal for wanting to plug in?

By: Will Wilkinson

Will Wilkinson — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 14:58:00 +0000

Luka, Yeah, I’ve changed my mind. I went through a short entirely subjectivist stage, but I’m done with it now. I now think the normal reaction to the experience machine helps show us that we are responsive to values that may not show up experientially.

By: Luka Yovetich

Luka Yovetich — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 14:30:00 +0000

Will,

I thought that you DIDN’T go in for the claim that the experience machine thought experiment shows that happiness isn’t the most important thing.

Have you changed your mind? Am I wrong about what you used to think? Or are you merely saying that expressions like ‘worth having’, ‘valuable’, and ‘good’ aren’t synonymous with ‘happy-making’?

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 13:56:00 +0000

Outside his professional competency, DeLong strikes me as a pretty mediocre thinker, whose having a big Internet presence (combined with the natural tendency of economists to aggrandize their intellectual importance) leads him to believe he owns a general portfolio on all matters of faith and morals. Which means he's out of his depth a lot—and when he's out of his depth he turns to polemic, without much in the way of scruples about his use of language. (Did you notice his ugly rant last month about Gunter Grass?) You just happen to have run afoul of one of DeLong's items of faith (and of what seems to be a rather stunted ethical imagination), and he doesn't really have a good, rational response to you, so he's piqued. I'm afraid it's DeLong who's blowing the squid ink here.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

By: Luka Yovetich

Luka Yovetich — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Will,

I thought that you DIDN’T go in for the claim that the experience machine thought experiment shows that happiness isn’t the most important thing.

By: Will Wilkinson

Will Wilkinson — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000