In this case, giving peahens what they want has a potential of species extinction -- a clear case of utility maximization leading to ruin.
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Replying to @LoCtrl @C_Harwick and
Utility theory is agnostic about the content of preferences. It is perfectly consistent with utility theory for an agent to want to kill itself. Or to do something which leads to its death.
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Replying to @metapotat @C_Harwick and
That's exactly why it's poorly grounded.
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Replying to @LoCtrl @C_Harwick and
It's just abstracting away those details. Utility theory allows you to ground your problem in biology by specifying biologically plausible preferences. But if that's not important for your problem, you don't have to.
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Replying to @metapotat @C_Harwick and
I have to go back to my original comment: maximization of utility is inherent in utility theory. If you stop looking at utility as a function to be maximized, the whole thing falls apart.
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Replying to @LoCtrl @C_Harwick and
I can't parse this. Are you saying it's tautological? Or something else?
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Replying to @metapotat @C_Harwick and
Let me rephrase: a lot of things in utility theory stop making sense if you stop looking at utility as a function to be maximized.
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Replying to @metapotat @C_Harwick and
In a way that is not "as a function to be maximized."
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Replying to @LoCtrl @C_Harwick and
Ok, here are the possible interpretations: Utility is not something that society maximizes. Utility is a psychological construct, akin to happiness, that humans sometimes try to get more of but not always. Humans are bounded agents and can't maximize for that reason Etc
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Typo: *not something that society should maximize
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