“7 Vicious Vices of Rationalists” by Ben Pace

Vices aren't behaviors that one should never do. Rather, vices are behaviors that are fine and pleasurable to do in moderation, but tempting to do in excess. The classical vices are actually good in part. Moderate amounts of gluttony is just eating food, which is important. Moderate amounts of envy is just "wanting things", which is a motivator of much of our economy.

What are some things that rationalists are wont to do, and often to good effect, but that can grow pathological?

1. Contrarianism

There are a whole host of unaligned forces producing the arguments and positions you hear. People often hold beliefs out of convenience, defend positions that they are aligned with politically, or just don't give much thought to what they're saying one way or another.

A good way find out whether people have any good reasons for their positions, is to take a contrarian stance, and to seek the best arguments for unpopular positions. This also helps you to explore arguments around positions that others aren't investigating.

However, this can be taken to the extreme.

While it is hard to know for sure what is going on inside others' heads, I know [...]

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Outline:

(00:40) 1. Contrarianism

(01:57) 2. Pedantry

(03:35) 3. Elaboration

(03:52) 4. Social Obliviousness

(05:21) 5. Assuming Good Faith

(06:33) 6. Undercutting Social Momentum

(08:00) 7. Digging Your Heels In

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First published:
November 16th, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/r6xSmbJRK9KKLcXTM/7-vicious-vices-of-rationalists-1

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.