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This is an interesting write-up but doesn't go far enough. Yes you're not watching an HD pixel based video when seeing. But the phrasing of "your visual system

This is an interesting write-up but doesn't go far enough. Yes you're not watching an HD pixel based video when seeing. But the phrasing of "your visual system shows you X" is still off. The visual system is you, the eyes and the retina's neurons are you, etc. There is no "you" hidden somewhere deep in the brain that watches what the brain shows it, like a homunculus.

LocalH 6y ago
Those of us who have had profound psychedelic trips and experienced time loops might beg to differ.
- zestyping 6y ago
  The understanding that there is no "you" watching a movie constructed by "your visual system" is actually a great explanation for these kinds of experiences. In order for you to experience a psychedelic hallucination of a face, there doesn't actually need to be a face constructed anywhere in your brain; all that needs to happen is for you to _believe_ that you saw a face. If something causes your "face detector" system to light up, you will think you saw a face whether or not a face was there. This brings the possibility of psychedelic experiences within the fathomable; it's not like you have some massive GPU in there constructing complex animations that the rest of you is watching.
pier25 6y ago
Biologically yes, you are all your body cells. You are your brain as much as you are your intestines. But psychologically it depends on what you identify with. Most people identify (wrongly) with their consciousness.
cmroanirgo 6y ago
There is the possibility to observe your thoughts, which strongly indicates two "you".
- dualogy 6y ago
  There _is_ the possibility that this is "just" memorizing / remembrance / memory of the just-passed (now-past) instant. Meaning as you think about "current" thought-X, the current instant is now thought-Y (thinking about X) and X is no longer "your current thought". Hm. Impossible to measure or decide because we can't ever possibly define "how long" is "now".
- mcguire 6y ago
  Found John Searle!

LocalH 6y ago

Those of us who have had profound psychedelic trips and experienced time loops might beg to differ.

zestyping 6y ago
The understanding that there is no "you" watching a movie constructed by "your visual system" is actually a great explanation for these kinds of experiences. In order for you to experience a psychedelic hallucination of a face, there doesn't actually need to be a face constructed anywhere in your brain; all that needs to happen is for you to _believe_ that you saw a face. If something causes your "face detector" system to light up, you will think you saw a face whether or not a face was there. This brings the possibility of psychedelic experiences within the fathomable; it's not like you have some massive GPU in there constructing complex animations that the rest of you is watching.

pier25 6y ago

Biologically yes, you are all your body cells. You are your brain as much as you are your intestines. But psychologically it depends on what you identify with. Most people identify (wrongly) with their consciousness.

cmroanirgo 6y ago

There is the possibility to observe your thoughts, which strongly indicates two "you".

dualogy 6y ago
There _is_ the possibility that this is "just" memorizing / remembrance / memory of the just-passed (now-past) instant. Meaning as you think about "current" thought-X, the current instant is now thought-Y (thinking about X) and X is no longer "your current thought". Hm. Impossible to measure or decide because we can't ever possibly define "how long" is "now".
mcguire 6y ago
Found John Searle!