August 2025 – Magnus Vinding
1 post published by Magnus Vinding during August 2025| Magnus Vinding
This post is a follow-up to my previous essay on reducing suffering given long-term cluelessness. Long-term cluelessness is the idea that we have no clue which actions are likely to create better o…| Magnus Vinding
1 post published by Magnus Vinding during September 2023| Magnus Vinding
An objection against trying to reduce suffering is that we cannot predict whether our actions will reduce or increase suffering in the long term. Relatedly, some have argued that we are clueless about the effects that any realistic action would have on total welfare, and this cluelessness, it has been claimed, undermines our reason to... Continue Reading →| Magnus Vinding
It is sometimes claimed that we cannot know whether suffering is ontologically prevalent — for example, we cannot rule out that suffering might exist in microorganisms such as bacteria, or even in the simplest physical processes. Relatedly, it has been argued that we cannot trust common-sense views and intuitions regarding the physical basis of suffering.... Continue Reading →| Magnus Vinding
My aim in this post is to critique two opposite positions that I think are both mistaken, or which at least tend to be endorsed with too much confidence. The first position is that the vast majority of future sentient beings will, in expectation, be digital, meaning that they will be “implemented” in digital computers.... Continue Reading →| Magnus Vinding
This post is an attempt to write up what I consider a useful lesson about intellectual discourse. The lesson, in short, is that it is often helpful to control for a thinker’s big idea. That is, a p…| Magnus Vinding
An objection against trying to reduce suffering is that we cannot predict whether our actions will reduce or increase suffering in the long term. Relatedly, some have argued that we are clueless about the effects that any realistic action would have on total welfare, and this cluelessness, it has been claimed, undermines our reason to help others in effective ways. For example, DiGiovanni (2025) writes: “if my arguments [about cluelessness] hold up, our reason to work on EA causes is underm...| Magnus Vinding
3 posts published by Magnus Vinding during November 2023| Magnus Vinding
I believe that many concerns over free will have to do with problems of reconciling different perspectives. Indeed, I have come to see the reconciliation of different perspectives as the main underlying problem in most concerns and discussions about free will, even if it is rarely recognized as such. Contents Contrasting Perspectives The following are... Continue Reading →| Magnus Vinding
Essays on UFOs and Related Conjectures invites readers to reflect on their beliefs and intuitions concerning extraterrestrial intelligence. The essays in this collection explore the extraterre…| Magnus Vinding
Whether to push for an AI pause is a hotly debated question. This post contains some of my thoughts on the issue of AI pause and the discourse that surrounds it. Contents The motivation for an AI p…| Magnus Vinding
The aim of this post is to present a hypothetical future scenario that challenges some of our basic assumptions and intuitions about our place in the cosmos. Hypothetical future scenario: Earth-des…| Magnus Vinding
It is plausible to assume that technology will keep on advancing along various dimensions until it hits fundamental physical limits. We may refer to futures that involve such maxed-out technologica…| Magnus Vinding
An earlier post of mine reviewed the most credible evidence I have managed to find regarding seemingly anomalous UFOs. My aim in this post is to mostly set aside the purported UFO evidence and to i…| Magnus Vinding
The psychological appeal of salient events and risks can be a major hurdle to optimal altruistic priorities and impact. My aim in this post is to outline a few reasons to approach our intuitive fas…| Magnus Vinding
The reduction of suffering deserves special priority. Many ethical views support this claim, yet so far these have not been presented in a single place. Suffering-Focused Ethics provides the most c…| Magnus Vinding
