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We speak with a long-time Denver rationalist who’s converting to Christianity about why. Part one, it turns out.
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00:00:05 – OK so why?
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Rationality: From AI to Zombies, The Podcast
LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode:
on hiatus, returning this summer
I want to take this opportunity to once again plug the idea that cosmological natural selection (https://theeggandtherock.com/p/a-splendid-overview-of-the-current) has basically all the nice properties that spiritual atheists could want from religion
Here are some features that Thomas and Eneasz describe as wanting in this interview, and how CNS provides them:
* To feel there is a guiding force towards good. This is universal selection for black hole production, which encourages the creation and preservation of intelligent life.
* To know there is a higher purpose. This is human progress, to develop to the point where we can produce many more universes. That being said, Christians believe that God knows what is best for everyone, and yet gifts everyone with free will. Correspondingly, humans have the opportunity to rise to their destiny of black hole production, but can choose not to (leaving it to alien species instead).
* To encourage people to help each other. Specifically, Thomas doesn’t agree with utilitarianism because entertainment provides definitionally provides utility but doesn’t feel sacred. But CNS resolves this, because if advancing human progress leads to the creation of many new universes, then positive-externality producing prosocial behavior is potentially infinitely multiplied, and so is actually incredibly more moral than indulging in personal entertainment, despite providing similar gains in direct short-term utility. Because “whomsoever saves a life…”
* To encourage community formation. The theory naturally encourages the continuation of humanity and society, and I think community should naturally form out of shared beliefs combined with a prosocial mindset due to innate human sociability.
* To know that some things are unknowable. Since information cannot be transferred through black holes, we ultimately cannot know specifically what happens in other universes. At the same time, this provides you an opportunity to exercise your faith muscle, “knowing” that other universes are playing out well due to belief in the fundamental goodness of the evolutionary driving force.
* To not require belief in false things. Everything in this theory is entirely consistent with current scientific knowledge.