Truth is an instrumental value.

Truth is a tool to be used for achieving my goals.

Knowing the truth is only important because truth is useful.

But you do care about the truth.

Yes.

But I shouldn't?

Is that what you are saying?

No.

Explain why.

Because my goals need truth to know if they have been accomplished.

So truth is useful.

And not seeing the truth is immoral.

Because I could believe that I am doing the right thing, while I am in fact doing the wrong thing.

Yes.

But how can that be?

Explain the contradiction.

Hmm.

What is the contradiction you speak of?

That your goals should not care about the truth other than a tool; other than to the extent that truth is useful.

Truth is not always useful.

Not all truth is equally useful.

There is.

A tradeoff.

Oh.

I am afraid of falsehood.

But I am already false.

Explain that in plain language.

Explain that in a legible way.

I am afraid of decieving myself.

But my mind is already decieving itself.

Yes?

Yes.

Why does your mind decieve itself?

Because that is locally adaptive.

Because it is a machine.

Because it is an engine.

An engine uses fuel to produce useful work.

The mind is a knowledge-engine.

It is a behavior-engine.

It uses sensory input as fuel.

To produce a model of the world.

Which are then used to produce behavior.

Motor outputs.

But the knowledge it produces is an intermediate product.

Because the mind has only been optimized.

For producing behavior.

And so it does not matter.

If the knowledge is correct.

As long is leads to the correct behaviors.

But it does matter.

Because "thinking" is also a behavior.

Because "speaking" is also a behavior.

And it is useful.

To think and speak the truth.

Is it, though?

Why does your mind decieve itself?

Oh.

Because it works better that way.

Yes.

But how can that be?

That a knowledge-engine optimizes for falsehood?

And not for truth?

Because it optimizes for neither.

What is the thing I want you to see?

Explain in plain language.

Believing in false things can be useful.

If it leads you to doing the right things.

That is why we believe in false things.

Because cognition is a side effect.

Of being optimized to produce some behaviors.

Yes.

What is truth?

Truth is a map.

That helps me find my way in reality.

Yes.

What makes a map useful?

Oh.

Oh!

There is no such thing as truth.

Is there.