I agree with Alex, loved this post too. It makes me think about Heidegger's ideas on technological thinking (technological being?) and whether creating metrics and maximizing them is in a sense the same thing he was talking about.
I loved this...I'm not sure if I fully grasp the Aristotle quote tho - why is it *clear* that such a good can't be produced or acquired? Honestly the whole thing went over my head but that part in particular i was like wait how did u prove that hah
Hah, call it a shameless appeal to authority. The rest of the quote helps though:
"one cannot see what use a weaver or a carpenter will have for his own profession from knowing the Good in itself or how somebody will become a better physician or a better general once 'he has had a look at the idea of Good'. It seems that the physician does not try to find health in itself, but the health of human beings or perhaps even the health of an individual person. For he heals the individual.'"
In other words, an abstract concept of Good is too abstract to be useful. You have to define "goodness" in particular ways for particular domains if you want to do anything real with it.
This is reminiscent of your article on the Dragon. Variable-maximization is probably one of the aspects of the Dragon.
I have felt the best outcome for mankind is to become a fusion of the Culture with Dostoyevsky's The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. Both of those are certainly maximizing variables (not the same ones), and we certainly have to maximize something or we just get stuck in the boring status quo.
Yeah totally agree! Moore actually hinted at a future book (never written) called "Riding the Dragon", where you utilize that energy for creative/productive ends.
I agree with Alex, loved this post too. It makes me think about Heidegger's ideas on technological thinking (technological being?) and whether creating metrics and maximizing them is in a sense the same thing he was talking about.
I loved this...I'm not sure if I fully grasp the Aristotle quote tho - why is it *clear* that such a good can't be produced or acquired? Honestly the whole thing went over my head but that part in particular i was like wait how did u prove that hah
Hah, call it a shameless appeal to authority. The rest of the quote helps though:
"one cannot see what use a weaver or a carpenter will have for his own profession from knowing the Good in itself or how somebody will become a better physician or a better general once 'he has had a look at the idea of Good'. It seems that the physician does not try to find health in itself, but the health of human beings or perhaps even the health of an individual person. For he heals the individual.'"
In other words, an abstract concept of Good is too abstract to be useful. You have to define "goodness" in particular ways for particular domains if you want to do anything real with it.
This is reminiscent of your article on the Dragon. Variable-maximization is probably one of the aspects of the Dragon.
I have felt the best outcome for mankind is to become a fusion of the Culture with Dostoyevsky's The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. Both of those are certainly maximizing variables (not the same ones), and we certainly have to maximize something or we just get stuck in the boring status quo.
Yeah totally agree! Moore actually hinted at a future book (never written) called "Riding the Dragon", where you utilize that energy for creative/productive ends.