ticketyboo Posted August 4, 2018 Posted August 4, 2018 Most are familiar with the Golden Rule: Quote Do to others as you would have them do to you. In Skin in the Game, NN Taleb describes a rule he considers even more important that he calls the Silver Rule: Quote Do not to others what you don’t want them to do to you. The Silver Rule reminds me of Stef's Universally Preferable Behaviors and the non-aggression principle. One of the arguments Stef makes for testing if something can possibly be a UPB is if a person in a coma could be compliant. If you prescribe some action as a requirement for virtue, then a person in a coma could not comply, and would be considered unvirtuous. This seems ridiculous, so UPBs are things like respect for property rights. Since a man in a coma isn't stealing anything, he is virtuous. Taleb is just beginning to nibble on the edge of UPBs. I don't think Taleb is aware of Stef's UPB work. If UPBs are in fact a real thing, you would expect independent observation and discovery. Gravity can be independently observed, measured, and "discovered" in North America, or Australia, or the moon, because it is a part of objective reality. UPBs represent Stef's attempt to elevate moral principles to the level of science (like gravity). UPBs are an independently observable part of objective reality. On a more tactical note, someone that can get Taleb's attention should point this out to him, and get him to tweet out a link to Stef's UPBs book. This would give Stef's ideas a big boost in public recognition.
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