tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4307187040250193857.post8226525161312760617..comments2024-03-20T03:33:22.357-07:00Comments on Skeptophilia: Opening your mind to mummified baby aliensGordon Bonnethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06003472005971594466noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4307187040250193857.post-74553719131671173992013-04-15T12:59:40.972-07:002013-04-15T12:59:40.972-07:00The composition and density of the rock can be mea...The composition and density of the rock can be measured. The throw can be measured. The effect of the rock against a cranium can be measured. What does the perception of the event matter to the tangible effect?<br /><br />I'm quite sure that everyone who was aware that they were about to get into a car accident had a moment, before impact, where they tried to wish-away the impending situation, to no avail.<br /><br />If the problem is "dueling conscious" (thrower's mind vs. throwee's mind) then the analogy is a man on his roof falling off and wishing he wasn't, with no-one else but him aware of the event. He can wish to not be falling off the roof all he wants, it's still happening anyhow.<br /><br />If consciousness (perception) creates reality, why do we have so little control over outcomes?Hontseur Thotshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10799765178908406877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4307187040250193857.post-21910991732568993312013-04-13T06:59:56.972-07:002013-04-13T06:59:56.972-07:00this kind of argument always reminds me of O'B...this kind of argument always reminds me of O'Brien's assertions about reality to Winston Smith near the end of 1984.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04922169493699607764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4307187040250193857.post-64855560091448641512013-04-13T05:37:26.505-07:002013-04-13T05:37:26.505-07:00Fascinating... and, I'm quite sure that your a...Fascinating... and, I'm quite sure that your arguments are on a level of sophistication far out of my league. I must say that (coming from a layperson) idealism has always seemed like an odd position to me. Surely the simplest model is that what we're seeing and experiencing around us is a real, external reality, not a product of our minds.<br /><br />That said, I'm aware that this vague, Ockham's razor-ish statement is neither rigorous nor convincing to anyone trained in philosophy. I also know that our intuition about things is as often wrong as it is right. Be that as it may, idealism has never made much sense to me, and I have always wondered why people find it an appealing philosophical stance.Gordon Bonnethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06003472005971594466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4307187040250193857.post-36082583165939495462013-04-13T05:12:09.123-07:002013-04-13T05:12:09.123-07:00In the interests of protecting academic discourse,...In the interests of protecting academic discourse, I should point out that my PhD is a systematic defence of the position (known academically as phenomenalistic idealism) that consciousness creates matter and the physical world is an illusion.<br /><br />Specifically to your 'throw a rock at my head' example - the original expression of which is Samuel Johnson's response to George Berkeley's 'The Principles of Human Knowledge', which was to say 'I refute it thus' and kick a stone that was lying by the side of the road - the illusion of throwing a rock at my head is composed of a sequence of experiences - the heft and feel of the rock in your hand, your visual perception and mine of its flight, my pain at the impact etc.<br /><br />Now, I'm sure that your UFO guy has never read my PhD thesis, or the Principles of Human Knowledge, or any of the other hugely sophisticated arguments on this point, but that doesn't mean there isn't a respectable position to be had there. And it's not just vague philosophical bullshit, either - at least potentially, it offers a new way to approach the observer problem in the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, and possibly also a similar underlying philosophical question about special relativity.Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16677076598470332030noreply@blogger.com