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hiAndrewQuinnyesterday at 6:44 PM2 repliesview on HN

Ah, another apt time to mention one of my favorite papers, Michael Huemer's In Praise of Passivity. https://spot.colorado.edu/~huemer/papers/passivity.htm

Basically it argues the most moral thing in a democracy is to do nothing at all. You simply can never make a truly well informed decision over such a complex system, not even with several lifetimes of dedicated work towards it.

Generally speaking I don't take anyone's political opinion seriously unless they have read and have a cogent response to this paper. I'll gladly just let them yap away and think I agree with them, regardless of my actual views. It's sort of like not taking philosophers seriously unless they've considered the question of solipsism first.


Replies

eximiusyesterday at 7:37 PM

"Things are hard, so don't try"?

Seems like it's just advocating for cowardice hiding behind moral grandstanding.

tristoryesterday at 7:59 PM

> It's sort of like not taking philosophers seriously unless they've considered the question of solipsism first.

Solipsism only makes sense if you completely reject the concept of objective reality. It's mostly sophistry. The lack of being able to prove that reality exists beyond your own perceptions is not sufficient to prove that it does not, nor to make that assertion. See also "Simulation Theory".