The Moral Original Position

Abstract

Chapter 4 showed that the Categorical-Instrumental Imperative — a principle that I have argued solves the problem of possible future selves — can be restated as follows:

The Kingdom of Human and Sentient Ends Formulation: voluntarily aim for its own sake, in every relevant action, to abstract away from the interests (or ends) of particular human or nonhuman sentient being(s), acting instead on interests (or ends) it is instrumentally rational for all human and nonhuman sentient beings to universally agree to share given their different voluntary, involuntary, and semivoluntary interests, where relevant actions are determined recursively as actions it is instrumentally rational for one’s present and possible future selves to universally agree upon as such in cases where one’s present self wants to know and advance their future interests — and then, when the future comes, voluntarily choose your having acted as such.