Philosophy

The Map-Territory Distinction Creates Confusion

LessWrong isn’t exactly founded on the map-territory model of truth, but it’s definitely pretty core to the LessWrong worldview. The map-territory model implies a correspondence theory of truth. But I’d like to convince you that the map-territory…

Why the Problem of the Criterion Matters

I think the problem of the criterion is really, really important. So important that I’m willing to risk annoying people by bringing it up all the time. I think it matters because a failure to grok it is at the heart of why we fail to notice we’re confused and…

The Problem of the Criterion

I keep finding cause to discuss the problem of the criterion, so I figured I’d try my hand at writing up a…

You are Dissociating (probably)

You are probably dissociating all the time and don’t realize it. Let’s look at just what I mean by this bold claim.

Disclaimer: I’m not a medical professional, and although I’m talking about “dissociation” here I definitely don’t mean to give…

Doxa, Episteme, and Gnosis Revisited

Exactly two years to the day I started writing this post I published Map and Territory’s most…

Let Values Drift

I occasionally run across lines of reasoning that depend on or favor the position that value drift should be avoided.

Akrasia is confusion about what you want

Many people I know might describe this as a case of akrasia…

Suffering and Intractable Pain

I’ve been writing a lot about AI alignment lately, so let’s take a break from that to talk about a lighter subject: suffering.

Suppose you contract the rare and as yet untreatable disease boneitis. The doctors estimate you have one year to live. In…

Evaluating Existing Approaches to AGI Alignment

My read of the AI safety space is that there are currently two major approaches to AGI alignment being researched: agent foundations and agent training. We can contrast them in part by saying the ultimate goal of the agent foundations program is…

Computational Complexity of P-Zombies

I’ve claimed that p-zombies require exponentially more resources than phenomenally conscious agents and used this to justify that AGI will necessarily be phenomenally conscious. I’ve previously supported this claim by pointing to a related result in integrated…