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What is "me" in this case?

Sohcahtoa82 2y ago
To define "me" in this context basically requires solving the Hard Problem of Consciousness [0]. To an external observer, all life, including humans, are nothing more than a complex set of electrical and chemical reactions, and in theory, with sufficient technology, you could take a perfect subatomic snapshot of someone's brain and predict exactly how they would react to any stimuli. But then there are the first-person perspective experiences. We have words for it like "consciousness" or "mind", but no scientific explanation on how it works and why it shuts off when we go to sleep. The religious will explain it with the concept of a soul. I don't think we can ever solve this Hard Problem. But I can claim to believe that if someone did snapshot my brain and recreate a perfect living replica in a new body, that I would not experience what that replica experiences. It might have a completely new consciousness behind it, or it could be a P-Zombie [1]. Maybe I'm actually the only conscious being in the entire universe and everyone else is a P-Zombie. Somehow, to me, that makes more sense than consciousness appearing out of nowhere. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_zombie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_zombie
- Vampiero 2y ago
  > Maybe I'm actually the only conscious being in the entire universe and everyone else is a P-Zombie. Somehow, to me, that makes more sense than consciousness appearing out of nowhere. That's because you live in Plato's cave, we all do.
  - LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
    Not necessarily. Some of us may have torn the illusory veils of Maya, and gleefully surf the waves of Indra's ocean from island to island, tasting all the delciously different somas.
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
  > Maybe I'm actually the only conscious being in the entire universe... Sounds rather solipsistic. In that case you'd probably work on your Zen to make it more to your liking? If only for more interesting NPCs at least :)

To define "me" in this context basically requires solving the Hard Problem of Consciousness [0]. To an external observer, all life, including humans, are nothing more than a complex set of electrical and chemical reactions, and in theory, with sufficient technology, you could take a perfect subatomic snapshot of someone's brain and predict exactly how they would react to any stimuli. But then there are the first-person perspective experiences. We have words for it like "consciousness" or "mind", but no scientific explanation on how it works and why it shuts off when we go to sleep. The religious will explain it with the concept of a soul. I don't think we can ever solve this Hard Problem. But I can claim to believe that if someone did snapshot my brain and recreate a perfect living replica in a new body, that I would not experience what that replica experiences. It might have a completely new consciousness behind it, or it could be a P-Zombie [1]. Maybe I'm actually the only conscious being in the entire universe and everyone else is a P-Zombie. Somehow, to me, that makes more sense than consciousness appearing out of nowhere. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_problem_of_consciousness [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_zombie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_zombie

Vampiero 2y ago
> Maybe I'm actually the only conscious being in the entire universe and everyone else is a P-Zombie. Somehow, to me, that makes more sense than consciousness appearing out of nowhere. That's because you live in Plato's cave, we all do.
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
  Not necessarily. Some of us may have torn the illusory veils of Maya, and gleefully surf the waves of Indra's ocean from island to island, tasting all the delciously different somas.
LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
> Maybe I'm actually the only conscious being in the entire universe... Sounds rather solipsistic. In that case you'd probably work on your Zen to make it more to your liking? If only for more interesting NPCs at least :)