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| Theoretical Philosophy » Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics » 12/27/2018 11:49 am |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 2
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Interesting. How do you resolve the ontological issue of backwards time?
| Theoretical Philosophy » Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics » 12/15/2018 12:04 am |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 2
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Which interpretation of QM do you favor and why? What do you think of Wolfgang Smith's views?
I would think this experiment would falsify his interpretation, because a "coporeal" object is supposedly put into a quantum superposition:
But maybe I am being too hasty here. Who among you do think his interpretation workable?
| Theoretical Philosophy » Virtual Reality Conjecture » 12/09/2018 9:27 pm |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 11
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Thank you for the responses! Theism aside, though, does anyone have an objection to Whitworth's conclusion in his paper?
| Theoretical Philosophy » Virtual Reality Conjecture » 12/09/2018 6:41 pm |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 11
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RomanJoe wrote:It really is an epistemological issue. How can we have knowledge of the workings of reality if we are deluded by a virtual one? I'll think on this. One of my initial reactions would be to question whether or not rational beings that inhabit a reality that isn't governed by something like the PSR or POC could devise a virtual one in which something like it is true. Could they even conceive of something like PSR or POC?
I think if we did discover ourselves to be living in a simulation, we would have no idea what the intentions of our simulators are. I think it is best to find reason why we are not living in a simulation. Possibly, metaphysics could be done on simulated objects. I think deducing the First Principles from within the simulation would be our best option.
| Theoretical Philosophy » Virtual Reality Conjecture » 12/09/2018 6:13 pm |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 11
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RomanJoe wrote:Cosmyk wrote:RomanJoe wrote:
Why do you think it's a threat to theism?
If we live in some kind of simulation, we could not know much about the world that simulates our world. The premises of the Classical arguments would be cast into doubt, because we could be fooled by the simulation about them. Maybe there is some way to make them work, but very little has been written attempting to do that.
So maybe it's the case that the metaphysical principles that govern reality are completely different than those that govern the virtual world?
Yes, or maybe no metaphysical principles govern the base reality, or metaphysical principles so different from those we are framiliar with they are incomprehensible to us.
| Theoretical Philosophy » Virtual Reality Conjecture » 12/09/2018 5:46 pm |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 11
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RomanJoe wrote:
Why do you think it's a threat to theism?
If we live in some kind of simulation, we could not know much about the world that simulates our world. The premises of the Classical arguments would be cast into doubt, because we could be fooled by the simulation about them. Maybe there is some way to make them work, but very little has been written attempting to do that.
| Theoretical Philosophy » Virtual Reality Conjecture » 12/09/2018 5:02 pm |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 11
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Hey, guys. This is going to be my last post regarding the simulation hypothesis. If you're not interested in the simulation hypothesis, or you think it's silly or not worth your time, just ignore this post.
A PhD named Brian Whitworth has published an interesting paper arguing certain physical phenomena are better explained by virtual reality rather than by objective reality. Whitworth is neither a philosopher nor a physicist, and one should probably take his words with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, I find his "Virtual Reality Conjecture" interesting and worth considering. He points out many similarities between our world and a virtual world, such as our world having a maximum velocity, quantum tunneling, and observer effects in quantum mechanics. Virtual reality, he would say, explains why all of these features are present in our world, while objective reality would say it is a large coincidence.
Right now, I find simulation theory to be the biggest threat to Theism and Christianity in particular. I would greatly appreciate anyone's thoughts on this paper. Thanks!
| Theoretical Philosophy » Discrete Space-Time and the First Way » 11/01/2018 9:13 am |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 0
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In theoretical physics it has been speculated space-time is fundamentally discrete. Reality, at its smallest scale, would act somewhat like Conway's Game of Life. I am curious: How would this affect the First Way? Because space and time would not be continuous, a stick could not continuously push a stone. Things would not truly be in motion. Instead, they would teleport from place to place. Do you think this would cast Aquinas' distinction between essentially ordered and accidentally ordered causal series into doubt? I would like to know your thoughts.
Of course, space time has not been proven to be discrete, and the data presently favors continuous space and time. However, many physicists consider this a legitimate possibility. I think it is best that we are able to defend the First Way under a wide variety of speculative theoretical models, in the event that any one of them is empirically proven to be true.
| Theoretical Philosophy » A Question About Free Will » 10/29/2018 7:46 pm |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 23
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While we are on the topic of free will, what do you think of genetic determinism? There seems to be support for the idea that most, if not all of our behavior is determined by genetics from identical twin studies. Here is an article defending the idea:
Do you think these experiments cast free will into doubt?
| Theoretical Philosophy » Simulation Hypothesis » 10/18/2018 7:22 am |
- Cosmyk
- Replies: 16
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John West, do you think one could deny being a simulated person (NOT a brain in vat) by saying "I have two hands"? In other words, are ones knowledge of ones hands are incompatible with being a simulated person?
For example, maybe substantial and accidental forms could exist in a simulation, and we perceive these forms in sensory experience. Perhaps, if the computer is a parallel processor, forms, space and volume could still exist?
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