4 ms·

Well, it's sort of the simplest explanation to think that when we die, our consciousness ceases to exist. This or any other hypothesis are un-testable -- at le

by elihu 2y ago

Well, it's sort of the simplest explanation to think that when we die, our consciousness ceases to exist. This or any other hypothesis are un-testable -- at least, they can't be tested without dying, which is sort of a problem. And speculating about things you can't disprove experimentally feels kind of like a disreputable activity to those of us who really like the scientific method. Personally I believe (but can't prove) that there's more to consciousness than just electrical signals in my brain, but at the same time I'm aware that my physical brain is the organ I do my thinking with, and if it's not in a good state then thinking is a lot harder. Thus it's hard to imagine my consciousness existing separately from my brain. If I didn't have access to the usual apparatus I use to do my thinking with, then what's left? Perhaps on some level the situation is like a 2-dimensional being not being able to comprehend what it would be like to live in three dimensions.

kessog 2y ago
Is it the simplest explanation? Already by suggesting consciousness ceases to exist we're suggesting a change in state, and a simpler explanation would be that there is no change in state - consciousness, more simply, continues to exist. For your second point, there is a way to prove that consciousness exists - by proving the impossibility of the contrary. If consciousness does not exist in a non-physical space, the very possibility of knowledge at all becomes impossible to reckon with. We could not have any interaction with metaphysical ideas like logic, reason, mathematics and so on. Logic is not present in the material world, yet it is universally applicable to all objects. Mathematical prototypes (eg. The number 7) cannot be found in the particles that make up the physical universe, yet they are found in all objects and are present and graspable in all minds. If the mind was purely matter, these fundamental building blocks for knowledge itself would be inaccessible. For your 3rd point - I think you are correct. We have no way of knowing exactly what an after life might look like.
- dghf 2y ago
  > If consciousness does not exist in a non-physical space, the very possibility of knowledge at all becomes impossible to reckon with. We could not have any interaction with metaphysical ideas like logic, reason, mathematics and so on. Why not?
- qsdf38100 2y ago
  > If the mind was purely matter, these fundamental building blocks for knowledge itself would be inaccessible. The potential implications of this take on consciousness are fascinating. This implies that a perfect computer simulation of a conscious brain would not be conscious, but only appear/pretend to be? Where does your consciousness come from then? Was it hanging around and jumped onboard your brain when it developed? Will there be enough consciousness units available if we reach 15 billion world population? Or maybe those can reproduce or come into existence from nothing? Hmmm, so they can be created but never destroyed? So are there actually trillions of consciousness units wandering somewhere, like a memory leak for minds? Or maybe it's all about reincarnation, but, what if the earth is vaporized by colliding with another planet? In what beings would all these consciousness units reincarnate into? And what part of you comes from your consciousness in the first place? Is it some vague perception/awareness of existing? Or is it your full mind, with memories, logic, langage and emotions? But then what is the brain doing if it's not the processing supporting these features of the mind? Is it some kind of antenna for beyond-physical communication with the actual non-physical mind? But then what makes the matter in our brain able to perform this communication, special? Could we figure this out and get beyond-physical communication in the lab? Sorry for this wall of questions, it's just... much more fascinating than the usual boring explanation, where the brain, neurones, axiomes and impulses allow information to flow and be processed so that you can form thoughts and reason about the world and yourself, and where all that processing stops with death and that's it, what was emerging from it can't go on without it. It is not only a boring description of what happens when you die, it is also very disappointing. I would love for some grand cosmic resolution to my life. But I have troubles believing that it's actually real, as nice as it sounds to me. Wishes of reality, reality of wishes.
  - kessog 2y ago
    [dead]

by elihu 2y ago

kessog 2y ago

Is it the simplest explanation? Already by suggesting consciousness ceases to exist we're suggesting a change in state, and a simpler explanation would be that there is no change in state - consciousness, more simply, continues to exist. For your second point, there is a way to prove that consciousness exists - by proving the impossibility of the contrary. If consciousness does not exist in a non-physical space, the very possibility of knowledge at all becomes impossible to reckon with. We could not have any interaction with metaphysical ideas like logic, reason, mathematics and so on. Logic is not present in the material world, yet it is universally applicable to all objects. Mathematical prototypes (eg. The number 7) cannot be found in the particles that make up the physical universe, yet they are found in all objects and are present and graspable in all minds. If the mind was purely matter, these fundamental building blocks for knowledge itself would be inaccessible. For your 3rd point - I think you are correct. We have no way of knowing exactly what an after life might look like.

dghf 2y ago
> If consciousness does not exist in a non-physical space, the very possibility of knowledge at all becomes impossible to reckon with. We could not have any interaction with metaphysical ideas like logic, reason, mathematics and so on. Why not?
qsdf38100 2y ago
> If the mind was purely matter, these fundamental building blocks for knowledge itself would be inaccessible. The potential implications of this take on consciousness are fascinating. This implies that a perfect computer simulation of a conscious brain would not be conscious, but only appear/pretend to be? Where does your consciousness come from then? Was it hanging around and jumped onboard your brain when it developed? Will there be enough consciousness units available if we reach 15 billion world population? Or maybe those can reproduce or come into existence from nothing? Hmmm, so they can be created but never destroyed? So are there actually trillions of consciousness units wandering somewhere, like a memory leak for minds? Or maybe it's all about reincarnation, but, what if the earth is vaporized by colliding with another planet? In what beings would all these consciousness units reincarnate into? And what part of you comes from your consciousness in the first place? Is it some vague perception/awareness of existing? Or is it your full mind, with memories, logic, langage and emotions? But then what is the brain doing if it's not the processing supporting these features of the mind? Is it some kind of antenna for beyond-physical communication with the actual non-physical mind? But then what makes the matter in our brain able to perform this communication, special? Could we figure this out and get beyond-physical communication in the lab? Sorry for this wall of questions, it's just... much more fascinating than the usual boring explanation, where the brain, neurones, axiomes and impulses allow information to flow and be processed so that you can form thoughts and reason about the world and yourself, and where all that processing stops with death and that's it, what was emerging from it can't go on without it. It is not only a boring description of what happens when you die, it is also very disappointing. I would love for some grand cosmic resolution to my life. But I have troubles believing that it's actually real, as nice as it sounds to me. Wishes of reality, reality of wishes.
- kessog 2y ago
  [dead]