[ngpio]

> What does that make me I wonder?

It only matters if you're still asking that rabbit hole of a question.

> Do you mean consequentialism in the philosophical sense - as in, to be contrasted with deontology?

I suppose that's accurate enough for this context. The LW threads where consequentialism has been discussed[1] are probably the only way to get a good idea of what I mean by it.

I'd probably be better served by using the word less in favor of a phrase like "longterm rationality".

There is no good, simple to understand word or phrase that gets across the idea of "ethical strategy is more important than anything, and that doesn't mean what you think it means, because my strategy involves willfully, permanently altering my identity whenever necessary (and practical)". The common language of ethics is stuck in the early 20th century (at best) and its pre-computational aspirations.

[1] http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Consequentialism

[igravious]

I've found LessWrong tough going in the past but I'll try again as you've given me motivation.

[ngpio]

Awesome. It's a fantastic community, full of incredibly smart people, novel perspectives and ways to actively improve the functionality of your mind.

Coincidentally, the user I originally replied to up above, Eliezer, is the founding member of LessWrong and author of most of the early posts.