“High-level actions don’t screen off intent” by AnnaSalamon

One might think “actions screen off intent”: if Alice donates $1k to bed nets, it doesn’t matter if she does it because she cares about people or because she wants to show off to her friends or whyever; the bed nets are provided either way.

I think this is in the main not true (although it can point people toward a helpful kind of “get over yourself and take an interest in the outside world,” and although it is more plausible in the case of donations-from-a-distance than in most cases).

Human actions have micro-details that we are not conscious enough to consciously notice or choose, and that are filled in by our low-level processes: if I apologize to someone because I’m sorry and hope they’re okay, vs because I’d like them to stop going on about their annoying unfair complaints, many small aspects of my wording and facial [...]

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First published:
September 11th, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nAMwqFGHCQMhkqD6b/high-level-actions-don-t-screen-off-intent

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.