But I would argue that we *really* do not know the meaning of value, and sometimes economics has only served to confuse us. Biological meaning of value becomes revealed over centuries—no scientist works on those timeframes.
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That's like saying "we *really* do not know how to speak English." Someone saying "that sentence is ungrammatical" (a subjective evaluation) is valid data for the linguist.
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As for "the biological meaning of value", utility can't be reduced to fitness, as I argue here, for reasons of fitness. You can't explain human sociality – let alone social systems – without both concepts. https://cameronharwick.com/blog/inside-and-outside-perspectives-on-legitimacy/ …pic.twitter.com/YTyZTSlimZ
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I agree that utility (as economics defines it) is not reducible to fitness -- which is why maximizing utility often leads on a wrong path. For an extreme example, imagine there is a virtual reality device that cuts you off from the world but provides maximum utility.
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I'm not sure how this is a failure of the framework of utility maximization? Self-destructive behavior would be considered utility-maximizing.
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It's a failure from a normative standpoint (one should not build frameworks that lead to such things, even if those frameworks are technically correct and mathematically elegant).
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Replying to @LoCtrl @C_Harwick and
But it is also a failure from a broader philosophical standpoint. In retrospect, the man who is about to end his life because all his desires where satisfied probably does not value the things he used to value anymore. In which case -- where is utility?
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Replying to @LoCtrl @C_Harwick and
There are plenty of epicycles you can add to save utility theory, but let's not do that. Utility theory is a model. It's not a literal description of reality. But it's useful to the extent that humans act intentionally, especially for aggregate behavior.
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Replying to @metapotat @C_Harwick and
It's a model with a serious grounding problem for the reason I just mentioned.
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*shrug* I could trot out the old box quote
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