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Simply because people are capable of understanding causality? Even in a fully atheistic framing, a human society that embraced this kind of nihilism would drast

Simply because people are capable of understanding causality? Even in a fully atheistic framing, a human society that embraced this kind of nihilism would drastically raise the ambient level of misery for everyone. Even if it’s your intent to selfishly push in this direction, a world where everyone else does the same would be far less enjoyable for you. Prosocial behavior is also selfish to the extent that encourages the same in others and accrues the corresponding comforts to you.

hnracer 6y ago
I am not talking about whether I want society overall to embrace this framing. From a selfish perspective, of course I do not want that. I'm talking about myself only. I can act purely self-maximizing and reap the gains while society pays the cost (an externality). I can feign kindness etc to extract the prosocial benefit to myself when it's required. I am a small fish in a big pond, I can take take take from society without fundamentally altering the way society treats me. If I am a psychopath why should I not act in this manner?
- jolux 6y ago
  I reject the idea that god-fearing psychopaths act more ethically. It feels like a non sequitur.
- claudeganon 6y ago
  If you’re a psychopath, you probably do act in that manner, so that’s irrelevant? What curbs psychopaths behavior is their ability to calculate the risk posed by engaging in varying degrees of antisocial behavior versus the rewards gained by engaging in less of it and preserving their ability to exploit and harm others. And this is largely determined by their intelligence and upbringing. The vast majority of people aren’t psychopaths though because evolution selected for traits like the capacity for empathy and remorse over amorality. These act as natural checks on antisocial behavior because it’s generally miserable to live in counter to these impulses, although humans have developed many clever means for overriding them (e.g. certain drugs, like amphetamines, and various violent or cult-like ideologies).

hnracer 6y ago

I am not talking about whether I want society overall to embrace this framing. From a selfish perspective, of course I do not want that. I'm talking about myself only. I can act purely self-maximizing and reap the gains while society pays the cost (an externality). I can feign kindness etc to extract the prosocial benefit to myself when it's required. I am a small fish in a big pond, I can take take take from society without fundamentally altering the way society treats me. If I am a psychopath why should I not act in this manner?

jolux 6y ago
I reject the idea that god-fearing psychopaths act more ethically. It feels like a non sequitur.
claudeganon 6y ago
If you’re a psychopath, you probably do act in that manner, so that’s irrelevant? What curbs psychopaths behavior is their ability to calculate the risk posed by engaging in varying degrees of antisocial behavior versus the rewards gained by engaging in less of it and preserving their ability to exploit and harm others. And this is largely determined by their intelligence and upbringing. The vast majority of people aren’t psychopaths though because evolution selected for traits like the capacity for empathy and remorse over amorality. These act as natural checks on antisocial behavior because it’s generally miserable to live in counter to these impulses, although humans have developed many clever means for overriding them (e.g. certain drugs, like amphetamines, and various violent or cult-like ideologies).