Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Space, Time, Morality

Robin Hanson and Katja Grace propose an extremely interesting idea that I will have to spend a great deal more time thinking about. Read it, then consider:

Do you subscribe to time morality or space morality?

What about space-time morality?

4 comments:

KAMHauck said...

So whats the morality??? They never really get to that. Its just the beginning of a thought... Which is just annoying. My interested is piqued. I'd like to hear more...

Troy Camplin said...

I think one of the things they are pointing at is the issue of envy. We envy those around us, but not people of the past or of the future. Should we not be as generous with those of the same time one lives in as in other times?

KAMHauck said...

True, they are, but... so what? I can't point to the sun outside, but it doesn't do anybody any good unless I can draw some sort of conclusion from the fact that the sun is outside...

Troy Camplin said...

Well, like you said, it's just the beginning of a thought. It has to be thought through. My example of ency is but one thinking-through. I think we need to think through this idea, which I think is on to something.

Consider this: why is it that many of the same people who argue that we cannot judge those in other cultures are so happy to judge those from the past for their moral shortcomings, as judged by contemporary morality? That is a case of someone showing preference for space-morals over time-morals. One who excused those in the past, but won't excuse people now would be showing preference for time-morals over space-morals (and also likely be demonstrating some understanding of the temporal nature of moral evolution -- accepting moral evolution as a spontaneous order).

Other thoughts?