the utility assignments are more constrained because they should generally respect the observed preferences of the actor, although there are exceptions discussed above in cases like irrationality, time discounting, epistemic error, or major conflict between the brain’s high-level output and low-level hedonic reactions. So, for example, when most people say they’re glad to be alive rather than temporarily unconscious, we should generally take this at face value and assume their lives are above zero, at least at that moment.