

Does morality -- like chess -- require significant computation in the brain? - amichail

One could argue that moral behavior is a result of deep lookahead using a powerful brain.  That's because for someone to appreciate the consequences of his/her actions in complex and varied contexts, massive heuristic search is required -- much like chess.
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parse_tree
But most people, IMO, do not think deeply about morality, they just mimic
others around them.

I guess that would still apply to what you said though - it would take a very
complex algorithm to come up with the optimal set of beliefs to minimize
resistance you'd meet from others in the society you live in (I believe such
an algorithm would not be unlike what goes on in the minds of many people).

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amichail
The mimicking could be viewed as copying heuristics from others. These moral
heuristics would correspond to evaluation functions in chess.

But one could argue that good heuristics are insufficient for moral behavior
in general -- sometimes massive heuristic search is required in novel
contexts.

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iterationx
I immediately think of how I did not understand Immanuel Kant's "Critique of
Pure Reason".

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Mz
I don't play chess, but it seems to me "morality" would be more complicated
because there are no simple right or wrong answers. Many people would like
there to be but such views often lead to acts of great evil. It's very
difficult to do right by many people. It's much, much easier to have a group
of people "decide" (agree) on some specific value and coerce everyone into
following it, no matter the cost. Of course, that leads to enormous
atrocities.

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amichail
One can think of moral behavior as a game of strategy where winning just means
achieving your life goals over the long term.

One may have "become rich" as a life goal which seems to have nothing to do
with morality... but it actually does since achieving this goal invariable
depends on getting along with others.

Because these are long term life goals, significant computation would be
required to look ahead in complex and varied situations where your decisions
may have ramifications many years later.

~~~
Mz
I don't honestly know how to define 'moral behavior' anymore. I know a lot of
people do things because they "care" about others. I'm one such person who is
wired to care deeply about the welfare of others. I have also raised two ASD
sons, one of whom just doesn't have that feeling of caring for others. Because
neither of my sons inherently understands social stuff, I have done a great
deal of explaining over the years. I have had to hone an ability to explain
things extremely accurately because anything less just doesn't compute for my
sons.

Like his father, my oldest son is probably one character trait short of the
personality profile that produces serial killers. Yet he and I get along
extremely well. His lack of caring what other people think is an antidote to
me getting too concerned with what others think/feel/want from me. My ability
to explain the social stuff is an antidote to his complete obliviousness to
such things. He is often described by other people as a very nice polite young
man. He has learned to be polite and respectful out of enlightened self-
interest (as the saying goes around here "jail time would seriously interfere
with his video game time").

And I have learned to stand up for myself and get the "doormat -- please wipe
your boots here" tattoo removed from my forehead. I have come to believe that
letting people victimize me is more immoral than "bitchily" standing up for
myself. I have come to believe that agreeing to be a victim forces the other
person into the role of victimizer when that may not be what they want at all.
I think a lot of people (at leasts in America) see social interaction as
limited to victim/victimizer interaction and many people who desire to be
"moral" choose the victim role as the "better" of the two. But choosing that
role denies both parties a humane, equitable interaction.

So I no longer really know what "morality" means. But I am generally less
tortured by such questions than when I was younger. I do my best to figure out
how to get my own needs met without making other people into victims or
forcing them into the role of victimizer. It's not an easy path to walk. But
it's a lot more pleasant than how I used to live.

