216 12 The Engineering and Development of Ethics Once one goes beyond simplistic, childlike notions of fairness (“an eye for an eye” and so forth), applying rational justice in a purely intellectual sense is just as difficult as any other real-world logical inference problem. Ethical quandaries and quagmires are easily encountered, and are frequently cut through by a judicious application of empathic simulation. On the other hand, empathy is a far more powerful force when used in conjunction with reason: analogical reasoning lets us empathize with situations we have never experienced. For instance, a person who has never been clinically depressed may have a hard time empathizing with individuals who are; but using the power of reason, they can imagine their worst state of depression magnified by several times and then extended over a long period of time, and then reason about what this might be like ... and empathize based on their inferential conclusion. Reason is not antithetical to empathy but rather is the key to making empathy more broadly impactful. Finally, the enlightened stage of ethical development involves both a deeper compassion and a more deeply penetrating rationality and objectiveness. Empathy with all sentient beings is manageable in everyday life only once one has deeply reflected on one’s own self and largely freed oneself of the confusions and illusions that characterize much of the ordinary human’s inner existence. It is noteworthy, for example, that Buddhism contains both a richly developed ethics of universal compassion, and also an intricate logical theory of the inner workings of cognition [Stc00], detailing in exquisite rational detail the manner in which minds originate structures and dynamics allowing them to comprehend themselves and the world. 12.4.4 Integrative Ethics and Integrative AGI What does our integrative approach to ethical development have to say about the ethical development of AGI systems? The lessons are relatively st