When transhumanists talk about indefinite life extension, they often take care to say "it's optional" to forestall one common objection.
Yet I feel that most suicides we see should have been prevented -- that the person should have been taken into custody and treated if possible, even against their will, How to reconcile a strong belief in free choice with the belief that suicide is most often the result of insanity, not the victim's "true" free will? Eliezer's "Extrapolated Volition" suggests that we take into account what the suicidal person would have wanted if they were wiser or saner. That is one solution, though it does not quite satisfy me. This is a basic ethical question, which takes on more relevance in the context of transhumanism, life extension, and F/AGI theory. Joshua ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=91138496-b91fd4
