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Comment by Molybdaenmornell (molybdaenmornell) on Not for the Sake of Happiness (Alone) · 2023-03-08T22:58:09.340Z · LW · GW

"I value freedom:  When I'm deciding where to steer the future, I take into account not only the subjective states that people end up in, but also whether they got there as a result of their own efforts."

I am somewhat the same but must recognise that it is possible that, were I to be forced into pure bliss, I would not want to go back. My value set may shift or reveal itself to not be what I thought it was. (I think it is possible, maybe even normal, to be somewhat mistaken about which values one lives by.) In fact, it seems exceedingly plausible to me that I value freedom the more because I know what it means to be defenceless and in danger. I would care far less about having a back door out of anything if I perceived no threats.

And that begs the question which values am I to consider 'right': The ones I live by now or the ones I think it likely I would have in, for want of a better word, paradise?

Comment by Molybdaenmornell (molybdaenmornell) on Not for the Sake of Happiness (Alone) · 2023-03-08T22:43:07.718Z · LW · GW

Which raises the question: Is the latter an instrumental or a terminal value? Or does it vary?