In
the Idea Explorer post "Groups,
Goals, and Actions" I discussed a framework for making
decisions based their impacts on affected groups. Here I'll share a
little about how I've begun to use this framework in an attempt to
better orient my decisions toward creating a healthier, more ethical
world.
I
recently used the analytic
hierarchy process (AHP), which compares the various elements of
the framework and prioritizes them relative to each other. I chose a
simple set of actions (what AHP calls "alternatives") that
could be ranked to determine which was the best to pursue: serving
self, serving family, serving others, and serving other species. Each
action was evaluated according to a set of criteria, which were all
of what I called "goals" in my framework (maximizing
happiness, population, and longevity for each group – self, family,
others, and other species).
For
groups, I gave family the highest priority, followed by others, self,
and other species. For actions, serving family ranked first, then
serving others, serving other species, and serving self.
I
then tried using my own method to rank each of the goals relative to
each other without any concern for actions. This resulted in the
longevity of others being ranked first, followed by a tie between
family longevity and family happiness for second-place. Third-place
was tied between population of others, population of other species,
and longevity of other species. Fourth place was tied between family
population and the happiness of others. Fifth place was a tie
between self happiness and self longevity (lifespan). The happiness
of other species was in sixth place, and self population (desire to
have more people like me) was in seventh and last place. Comparing
goal types, longevity was in first place, and both happiness and
population tied for second. Comparing groups, others were first
(mainly due to longevity and population), family was second, other
species were third, and self was last.
The
latter results felt more accurate and meaningful to me than the AHP
results, given my obsession with the longevity of the human species
(how long until we're extinct) as the ultimate endpoint for the lives
of everyone who's part of it. My feelings of very low importance
relative to everyone and everything else were better reflected in
this evaluation, which were likely more a consequence of forced
objectivity than subjective depression. At any rate, I'm willing to
consider this a baseline for future comparisons.
