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#121 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,651
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The mind is an collective abstraction. This is like asking, “If I have three apples, where is the ‘three’?”
It is commonly accepted that trees, somehow, produce the forest. If this is the case, where is the forest? You can’t see the forest for the trees. My professor of philosophy of mind put it in terms of a university. A vistor wants to see our university. He is shown the dorms, the classrooms, the administration buildings, the library, the caefteria, the grounds, the sports center. Then the vistor says, “Thank you for showing me all of these things, but where is the university?” Let’s say I have a wooden chair. It is a chair. You can sit on it. But then I take a chainsaw to it (not while you are sitting on it). It is little pieces of wood that you can’t sit on at all. Then I throw the pieces in a fire. The pieces turn to ash. Then I throw the ash into the wind and the ashes are scattered all over. There is no more chair. What happened to the chair? Where did the “chair” go? |
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Heaven forbid someone reads these words and claims to be adversely affected by them, thus ensuring a barrage of lawsuits filed under the guise of protecting the unknowing victims who were stupid enough to read this and believe it! - Kevin Trudeau |
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#122 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,651
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__________________
Heaven forbid someone reads these words and claims to be adversely affected by them, thus ensuring a barrage of lawsuits filed under the guise of protecting the unknowing victims who were stupid enough to read this and believe it! - Kevin Trudeau |
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#123 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,651
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Nice post. I am reminded of some of my musician friends who refuse to learn how to play some of their favorite songs. Once they learn to play a song, they can only hear the structure of the song—chord progressions, notes, beats—but can never again actually hear the “song”. This happens frequently in the arts. It is difficult for a comedian to laugh at jokes because they are analyzing the structure of the joke. Artists are praised by other artists for their work because of the structure of their painting, while non-artists only see “something my kid could do”.
There is that “je ne sais quoi” feeling of mysticism that we can apply to any unanalyzed collective abstraction. |
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Heaven forbid someone reads these words and claims to be adversely affected by them, thus ensuring a barrage of lawsuits filed under the guise of protecting the unknowing victims who were stupid enough to read this and believe it! - Kevin Trudeau |
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#124 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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__________________
Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#125 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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So, if I understand you correctly, you are saying that some Naive Realists feel that Model Dependent Realism is a competing theory, when in fact is just a point of view regarding knowledge (exactly what Naive Realism is without the proponents actually realizing it). And so, its postulates come "without guarantee"...? Oh I don't know maybe I misunderstood your post.
Actually this is what Model Dependent Realism is all about... we have no way to know if our perceptions correspond, in any way, to reality, all what matters is that the model is useful. No model is more "real" than other, they are more or less useful, that's about it. |
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#126 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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__________________
Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? Last edited by kmortis; 23rd April 2012 at 08:58 AM. Reason: Removed to comply with Rule 12 & Rule 0 |
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#127 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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I think most of us have been Naive Realists at some point, it might be the next step coming from some form of "post religious" beliefs. What I have been arguing for years at the JREF is that Naive Realists ARE NOT Skeptics.
Such position, which apparently the JREF should be all about, is much more adequately represented by Model Dependent Realism. |
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#128 |
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Winter is Coming
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Middle of nowhere, UK.
Posts: 7,121
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The mind is to the brain as the movement of the car is to the engine as far as I'm aware.
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Naturalism adjusts it's principles to fit with the observed data. It's a god of the facts world view. -joobz Now I lay me down to sleep, a bag of peanuts at my feet. If I should die before I wake, give them to my brother Jake. |
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#129 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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Nice video. I believe some people forget, or are unaware about that every depiction we have about reality is (no matter if we want it or not) sort of a theory of knowledge, or better, an assumption about that certain pseudo arbitrary form of knowledge is the best epistemic depiction we can have about what "reality is".
Of course, every theoretical model brings its own ontology, and what I find amusing is that, most of the time, people is unaware of this fact. |
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#130 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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__________________
Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#131 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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Actually, this is a good depiction of what Naive Realism is all about. I hope it is clear that it is not a derogatory depiction of a philosophical approach to reality, but just a description. Have you read the article at Wikipedia? There are a few more readings I can recommend.
LOL. |
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#132 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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The brain is in a vat at a laboratory attached to a machine for its life support, its body its at the train, and there is an advanced remote connection between the body and the brain (sort of an advanced WiFi) And yes, there are at least two questions at hand, where do we (as external observers) point at when we want to say where the subject is. And where does the subject points to when questioned about where "he is".
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#133 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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__________________
Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#134 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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Great post.
Good questions. I didn't want to go that deep of course, being this the science forum at JREF. The intention is to find out and discuss where actual beliefs are, based on what we know by scientific research. I would say that there is a "general consensus" about the identity of a brain to "be" in the brain. But in general I agree that the main problem is that we tend to take for granted that we have indisputable answers to what "experience really is". And, in the end, I believe it goes even deeper than this. The World View in vogue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_view depicts sort of a reality which is (pretty much) what we think about it. We have learned to equate our mental model to what we call reality, with this in mind, every science advancement is always viewed at the scope of the current paradigm, and I believe that the problems start here. I loved this part. Yes, I agree. It most be measured against other kind of ontological concepts, not one based (basically) on ancient Greek philosophical works. But I would like you to expand what you mean by "authentic intense" and "dysfunctional indifferent". Actually not even that, science is a set of tools, that happen to be the best set of tools we have to manipulate, predict and describe experiences. But most people confuse science with a body of knowledge (the mentioned World View). But yes, I do agree with what you say. Indeed. Not that this is noted to often, because of the baggage we constantly carry. I often worry about the (apparent) extreme necessity of having a complex World View to "explain" things for us, at an ontological level. That's why I love so much the Model Dependent Realism theoretical approach to reality. LOL.
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#135 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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__________________
Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#136 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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__________________
Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#137 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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As much as I like the metaphors they do not apply. I believe there is a lot of confusion regarding this subject, and of course it is expected that it should be that complex, after all, every theory, every belief, every smile, every tear, all the stars and complex models regarding quantum mechanics, all we know, believe feel, it is somehow "contained inside" the little "I", that some people want to render a non existent illusion of some kind. But no, in the end, all we really have are experiences, observations... it is EVERYTHING ELSE which is a projection, an idea, even an illusion.
Yes... sometimes poetry is so much closer.
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#138 |
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Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 15,305
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#139 |
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Banned
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Ocean Springs, Ms
Posts: 1,784
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#140 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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I suppose I'm on ignore by now.. oh well.. you attack and talk behind my back making jokes about what you pretended me to say.. then, every time I asked you for an argument I received straw man attacks, and now you are the offended one. Well, it was your choice... if at any point you want to come back and have an interesting discussion, you will be welcomed.
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#141 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 4,543
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There's a pragmatic answer to this you know, and if you watched that BBC horizon the answer again will be pragmatic, not philosophical.
If the subject's brain is in a vat then he will percieve himself in the body wherever it is, similar to the BBC horizon video where the main guy thought he was in the other guy's body thanks to the sense deprivation and cameras. Now, the pragmatic answer to the observer...the guy's in both places obviously -.- the brain's in the vat, the body (probe) is out probing. |
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"If I actually believed that Jesus was coming to end the world in 2050, I'd be preparing by stocking up on timber and nails" - PZ Myers |
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#142 |
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Philosopher
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 5,965
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Has anyone here suffered from or familiar with Alice in Wonderland Syndrome?
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#143 |
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Philosopher
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 5,965
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#144 |
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Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 5,420
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#145 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 4,543
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__________________
"If I actually believed that Jesus was coming to end the world in 2050, I'd be preparing by stocking up on timber and nails" - PZ Myers |
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#146 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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__________________
Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#147 |
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Muse
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 862
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This should really be in Religion&Philosophy
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#148 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Rural England
Posts: 4,165
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#149 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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Disagree.
First of all, it is WRONG that Philosophy shares a place in the forum with religion... one is a discipline to learn to think, to explore what constitutes knowledge, to analyze the properties of language and to make theoretical frameworks that allows us to explore the universe using tools like science... and the other one is a collection of myths for lesser intelects.That said, the study of what constitutes our identity is a scientific endeavor, so this is the right forum. Thanks. |
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#150 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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Well, pragmatism... IS a philosophy
I don't know what happened at the JREF, I consider that it is absurd that "religion" can share a subforum with "philosophy", in a way, that renders them to be at the same (relative) category and many members at the JREF believe that philosophy is some kind of nonsensical rambling... yeah.. right... Exactly my point, one that it might not be obvious at first sight, because we are so accustomed to our normal reference point that these kind of questions are starting to arise (thanks to philosophical inquiry using science as a tool). Now, this is an interesting analysis. I would have to disagree, but it is certainly a good point. I believe the guy, the personality, his "sense of who he is" is located at the train, but that it wouldn't be able to be there without the connection to its brain. |
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#151 |
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Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 5,420
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#152 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Rural England
Posts: 4,165
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#153 |
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Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Estonia
Posts: 212
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#154 |
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Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 1,778
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- Ask question a simple but loaded question with an obvious answer.
- Get simple direct answer. - Ask question again using more words and vaguer language - Get the same simple answer because you didn't actually change your base question. - Ask the question yet again, wording it even vaguer this time. Use word salad and wall of text. - Yet again get the same simple answer. - Ask the question again, but add solipsistic special pleading. - Yet again get the same simple answer. - Ask the same question yet again. At this point start making up neat sounding but useless phrases like "Outside of plane of space/time" or "Beyond the realm of the comprehensible" or "Outside the veil of the formless horizon of the energy of the mind." - Yet again get the same simple answer. |
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- Opinions require evidence and no before you ask defining something as "Something doesn't require evidence" doesn't count. - In extreme cases continuing to be wrong when you've been repeatedly proven to be wrong is a form of rudeness. - Major in philosophy. That way you can also ask people "why" they would like fries would that. |
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#155 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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Are there really two questions? Let's see.. if you feel something, this feeling is part of the experience... So, I believe there is just one question; Where is your experience?, which includes of course everything you believe, you think, you feel, you sense, etc.
I brought this post by Lowpro again as its relevant, he has a slightly different guess... I would say that, no, he can't be in both places simultaneously and what introduces the "noise" is the link to the brain and the belief about it "somehow contains" the experience. IMO; "experience" is something located at the location is happening, in this case, the train. The consciousness of the subject is right there, not in any other place... now.. that if we cut the link to the brain the consciousness would return to the brain (assuming that consciousness can happen without any propioceptive or senses information) is correct, as the brain (in relation to the senses) is what allows experience to happen. |
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Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#156 |
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Advaitin
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Here
Posts: 3,809
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__________________
Im too busy living, why waste my time believing? |
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#157 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 4,543
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Well are we dealing again with experience being equal to the word perception? Because I agree that the brain, assuming all all PNS activity were being transmitted "perfectly" to the brain even with the distance the PERCEPTION would probably be that the subject would perceive his or herself on the train, not as a brain in the vat. This is simple to explain; the brain itself doesn't have the "probe" of the body to determine where it is (maybe it does if there are receptors in and around the brain that determine location, but that's a minor consideration to the experiment you're talking about) regardless all perception would determine that you are indeed on the train.
However, ALL that perception IS transmitted to the brain where the perceptions are summated. That's why I actually think the one subject being in two places at once is accurate. Example: Let's take the BBC Horizon video to an extreme. Let's have the one guy with the screens be labeled (A) and the guy with the camera labeled (B). We already see the effects of when the two are standing across from eachother, A receives the sight stimuli from B and the brain interprets it as it being his own stimuli. Well let's send B on a train then. A will perceive B as still being himself throughout the train ride, at least visually. A might as well JUST be the brain in the vat at this point too! But it's still the stimuli of B's movements being summated in A's brain. For all intents and purposes he might as well be in both places. It'd be basically a very very very complex periscope/fiberoptic eye. B is a prosthesis of A. A does the perceiving, and B is just the probe that transmits the stimuli to be perceived. |
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"If I actually believed that Jesus was coming to end the world in 2050, I'd be preparing by stocking up on timber and nails" - PZ Myers Last edited by Lowpro; 23rd April 2012 at 01:27 PM. Reason: bolded to make it less confusing....maybe |
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#158 |
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Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Estonia
Posts: 212
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experience
"n. 1. The apprehension of an object, thought, or emotion through the senses or mind: a child's first experience of snow. 2. a. Active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill: a lesson taught by experience; a carpenter with experience in roof repair. b. The knowledge or skill so derived. 3. a. An event or a series of events participated in or lived through. b. The totality of such events in the past of an individual or group." I think you use "experience" as the underlined part, and I use it as the bolded part. That's all there is to it. Btw, where would you say the experiences of dreams happen? At the place the dreamer perceives himself to be? |
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#159 |
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Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 15,305
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#160 |
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Illuminator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 4,543
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__________________
"If I actually believed that Jesus was coming to end the world in 2050, I'd be preparing by stocking up on timber and nails" - PZ Myers |
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