David Deutsch BoI quote check re fun

In-house rules Jul 04, 2025 · By Dennis Hackethal

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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.

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): ‘[...]’

Diff

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.

added in the quote ~~removed~~ from the original wavy not marked as a change ‧ space

Part-by-part 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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