And then once you have multiple ethical systems and they’re staring you in the face and you still need to make a decision, what then? My current (not super helpful) strategies include: Flip-flopping Comparative ethics Intuitive guesses All feel weak and messy. Ideas?
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Replying to @utotranslucence @reasonisfun
Hard to say anything without a lot more context, but... accepting moral messiness is a key first step in "fluid ethics" it seems. It's equivalent to admitting that no system can give a definite answer.
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Replying to @Meaningness @reasonisfun
“Weak”… the antidote to that is confidence developed through experience—not confidence that you’ll always do the right thing (which is not possible), but confidence in your basically good intentions and good sense and likelihood of nearly always doing something reasonably OK.
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Replying to @Meaningness @reasonisfun
Adherence to a system provides comfort that you will do the right thing if you follow its dictates. When you lose faith in systems, you can feel torn and lost and in danger of falling into a pit without principles to support you. [“stage 4.5”] The stakes seem very high…
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Replying to @Meaningness @reasonisfun
“Fluidity” includes a renewed sense of general comfort with ethics, partly from confidence in yourself, but also a sense that the stakes are not dramatically higher than the practical consequences. You don’t bother with obsessive ethical angst on top of practical decisions.
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Replying to @Meaningness @reasonisfun
Uh, I have some points in this collection of giant IOUs that might possibly be relevant (albeit extremely condensed):https://meaningness.com/ethics
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Replying to @Meaningness @reasonisfun
Ahh, that time again where I read something you’ve put in meaningness and it’s exactly the thing I want, or it would be, if it existed! Are there sources you can point to for us hangers-on in the meantime?
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Replying to @utotranslucence @reasonisfun
It might be a more useful book if I actually wrote it, yes :) FWIW I put some recommendations for books on ethics here:https://meaningness.com/further-reading#ethics …
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Replying to @Meaningness @reasonisfun
I guess the answer is the same, though: one can’t know for sure, ever. Common sense, sensitivity, experience, and contemplation are probably usually adequate, and in any case all we’ve got…
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Replying to @Meaningness @reasonisfun
Common sense, sensitivity, contemplation: these are ideas David has about how he goes about living his best life (his values). You may have your own such ideas. Living ethically is just evolving and finding venues for that set (e.g. thru admiration, experimentation, reflection)
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Great additions, yes!
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