Our brains (preferences and the such)

[pvn]

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Because people who aren't micromanaging busybodies respect other people's autonomy. If someone asks you for help, great.

If not, MYOFB.

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The first problem with this is that it certainly doesn't (and shouldn't) hold at all social levels. What you said is true of some random guy in the street that I come across (under most circumstances).

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So at what "social levels" does this hold?

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Your friends? Family? Neighbor? Guy at work? I don't know where you would personally draw the line, but I'd say I'm clearly right here.

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OK, there's a difference between people being concerned about you and offering to help, and people intervening against your will for your own good.

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Yes, people change their mind. So what?

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So, what do you do? Respect their current wishes or respect their previous wishes?

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It depends, I suppose. What agreements have we made? What obligations exist? How charitable do the two parties feel?

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How can you determine what "pvn's" preference is if "pvn" changes from day to day, but the preference is over something that has long lasting effects? I think it's a very important question that simply saying something along the lines of "actions reveal preferences" doesn't quite address.

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The answer is quite simple: stop worrying about my preferences. What difference does it make to you if I change my mind? I certainly see why busibodies who want to centrally micromanage everything would get upset by behavior like this, but you keep claiming that you aren't interested in such stuff. So *what difference does it make* if people change their minds about stuff?

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If it is the case that people actually achieve the highest possible utility when they are being bossed around, who are you to tell them it's wrong? We may be crossing into different grounds here, but I think it's an interesting trail.

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You're missing a crucial piece - even if someone decides that he would be happier if someone bossed him around, this doesn't give YOU in particular license to do it - UNTIL HE ASKS YOU. He might want someone else to do it.