David Deutsch BoI quote check re fun

Jul 04, 2025 · By Dennis Hackethal · Fork · Check another quote

Original text

Deciding ‘I should do whatever pleases me most’ would give you very little clue, because what pleases you depends on your moral judgement of what constitutes a good life, not vice versa. This also illustrates the emptiness of reductionism in philosophy. For if I ask you for advice about what objectives to pursue in life, it is no good telling me to do what the laws of physics mandate. I shall do that in any case. Nor is it any good telling me to do what I prefer, because I don’t know what I prefer to do until I have decided what sort of life I want to lead or how I should want the world to be.
David Deutsch, The Beginning of Infinity, chapter 5

Quote text

Deciding ‘I should do whatever pleases me most’ [when determining what sort of life to want] would give you very little clue, because what pleases you depends on your moral judgement of what constitutes a good life, not vice versa. [I]f I ask you for advice about what objectives to pursue in life, it is no good telling me to do what […] I prefer, because I don’t know what I prefer to do until I have decided what sort of life I want to lead or how I should want the world to be.
Ellipsis used (if any): ‘[...]’
✓ No issues found using regular expression . and Myers algorithm. 
Deciding‧‘I‧should‧do‧whatever‧pleases‧me‧most’‧[when‧determining‧what‧sort‧of‧life‧to‧want]‧would‧give‧you‧very‧little‧clue,‧because‧what‧pleases‧you‧depends‧on‧your‧moral‧judgement‧of‧what‧constitutes‧a‧good‧life,‧not‧vice‧versa.↵
This‧also‧illustrates‧the‧emptiness‧of‧reductionism‧in‧philosophy.‧For‧i[I]f‧I‧ask‧you‧for‧advice‧about‧what‧objectives‧to‧pursue‧in‧life,‧it‧is‧no‧good‧telling‧me‧to‧do‧what‧the‧laws‧of‧physics‧mandate.‧I‧shall‧do‧that‧in‧any‧case.‧Nor‧is‧it‧any‧good‧telling‧me‧to‧do‧what[…]‧I‧prefer,‧because‧I‧don’t‧know‧what‧I‧prefer‧to‧do‧until‧I‧have‧decided‧what‧sort‧of‧life‧I‧want‧to‧lead‧or‧how‧I‧should‧want‧the‧world‧to‧be.

Explanation

# Part Valid? Explanation
1 
Deciding‧‘I‧should‧do‧whatever‧pleases‧me‧most’‧
2 
[when‧determining‧what‧sort‧of‧life‧to‧want]‧
 ✓ yes Insertion is properly bracketed.
3 
would‧give‧you‧very‧little‧clue,‧because‧what‧pleases‧you‧depends‧on‧your‧moral‧judgement‧of‧what‧constitutes‧a‧good‧life,‧not‧vice‧versa.↵
4 
This‧also‧illustrates‧the‧emptiness‧of‧reductionism‧in‧philosophy.‧For‧i
 ✓ yes Deletion is followed by a valid insertion.
5 
[I]
 ✓ yes Insertion is properly bracketed.
6 
f‧I‧ask‧you‧for‧advice‧about‧what‧objectives‧to‧pursue‧in‧life,‧it‧is‧no‧good‧telling‧me‧to‧do‧what‧
7 
the‧laws‧of‧physics‧mandate.‧I‧shall‧do‧that‧in‧any‧case.‧Nor‧is‧it‧any‧good‧telling‧me‧to‧do‧what
 ✓ yes Deletion is followed by a valid insertion.
8 
[…]
 ✓ yes Insertion is properly bracketed.
9 
‧I‧prefer,‧because‧I‧don’t‧know‧what‧I‧prefer‧to‧do‧until‧I‧have‧decided‧what‧sort‧of‧life‧I‧want‧to‧lead‧or‧how‧I‧should‧want‧the‧world‧to‧be.

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