Wanting to want something else (was Re: Venus)

Mitchell Porter (mitch@thehub.com.au)
Tue, 28 Jan 1997 09:48:24 +1000 (EST)

[Robin Hanson]
> If you want to want something else, then how can it be that you
> wanted it in the first place?

I don't see anything odd about wanting to change what you want;
it's a form of wanting to change yourself. You might decide that
you'd be better off without a certain desire (e.g. you want to
smoke, but you also want to live forever); you might want to
experience new things, and find that some of your existing
wants keep you in place; and there are probably other ways this
can happen.