tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post775607640010631953..comments2023-10-26T22:06:11.166+11:00Comments on Metamagician3000: Sam Harris on science and human valuesRussell Blackfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12431324430596809958noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-70054286692900180592011-02-09T19:44:42.053+11:002011-02-09T19:44:42.053+11:00I think Harris has too much confidence in his intu...I think Harris has too much confidence in his intuition, so doesn't feel the need to think the subject through carefully, take seriously the pre-existing literature, or pay close attention to criticism. Human nature, of course, but a shame nevertheless.Richard Weinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095903892283146064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-11543954807679717682011-02-09T09:07:58.917+11:002011-02-09T09:07:58.917+11:00I'm glad Sam Harris is linking to Jollimore...I'm glad Sam Harris is linking to Jollimore's review, because it is, as he says, one of the better ones. What I don't get, though, is why he thinks he has addressed <i>any</i> of Jollimore's criticisms. I wonder if he is just not paying attention, or if perhaps he's hoping to confuse people into thinking that he has actually responded to Jollimore when in fact he hasn't. Either way, again, I'm glad he linked to Jollimore, because I hadn't read that review yet, and I'm glad I finally did. It's solid.<br /><br />As for his responses to you, I'm not holding out for any concessions. It looks like he's a moral relativist in denial, and I don't know if that can be cured by rational argument alone. (By the way, is it just me, or has Harris made a noticable but unannounced shift away from viewing <i>the well-being of all conscious creatures</i> to <i>the well-being of humans</i> as the foundational value of our moralizing?)Jason Streitfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06950357341620206095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-14630714062805506472011-02-09T03:06:03.263+11:002011-02-09T03:06:03.263+11:00The existence of health as a science does not nece...The existence of health as a science does not necessitate the maximisation of it.<br /><br />The existence of economics as a science does not necessitate the maximisation of long-term profit.<br /><br />Similarly, the existence of a science of morality does not necessitate the maximisation of well-being either.March Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13116034158087704885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-90497206899989670232011-02-08T23:06:07.087+11:002011-02-08T23:06:07.087+11:00Sam Harris wrote:
1. There is no scientific basis ...Sam Harris wrote:<i><br />1. There is no scientific basis to say that we should value well-being, our own or anyone else's. (The Value Problem)<br />...<br />1. There is no scientific basis to say that we should value health, our own or anyone else's. (The Value Problem)<br />...<br />While the analogy may not be perfect, I maintain that it is good enough to obviate these three criticisms. Is there a Value Problem, with respect to health? Is it unscientific to value health and seek to maximize it within the context of medicine? </i><br /><br />Well from his analogy with health, I would conclude Sam Harris wouldn't be a very good doctor. There is a value problem with health and a lot of strained relations between docters and their patients is that doctors don't (want to) see it.<br /><br />For a number of patients indulging in something that happens to be bad for their health is one of the few things that gives them pleasure in life and is what life make bearable for them but doctors often enough don't (want to) see that and take every opportunity to pester the patient to quit the habit.<br /><br />And of course it is not unscientific to value health and look to science for means to maximize it. But in the same way it is not unscientific to value unhealth and look to science for way to increase that (e.g. in the context of pest control or biological warfare).<br /><br />Sam Harris doesn't seem to understand the difference between having certain values and let science inform us on how best to bring then into practice and sciece being the basis of those values.Axxyaannoreply@blogger.com