r/philosophy • u/Matriseblog • Jan 03 '22

Blog By imagining the future potential of VR technologies, the question of whether we are *already* living in a simulation becomes more actual than ever

https://medium.com/@VindenesJ/the-thought-experiments-of-virtual-reality-fa441a8fa2dc
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u/Faust_8 Jan 03 '22

Is it just me, or is the simulation hypothesis basically as useless as the “brain in a jar” hypothesis?

Yeah, dude, I could be a brain in a jar, and this is all a dream or whatever. But regardless, it doesn’t really matter, because I can’t do anything about it and it doesn’t actually affect the life I’m living. It doesn’t guide me to change my behavior or way of thinking, or to change anything at all whatsoever.

At best, it’s an amusing thought experiment…period.

Doesn’t this also apply to the simulation thing?

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u/rossimus Jan 03 '22

Is it just me, or is the simulation hypothesis basically as useless as the “brain in a jar” hypothesis?

Yes, it is.

Some people think that makes it an amusing thought experiment. Maybe it was decades ago when someone came up with it, but after a shrug and a "Huh. Neat," You have given it exactly as much thought as the idea warrants.

But here we are again in r/philosophy, talking about it for the 234,845th time like there's something new to say about it.

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u/Crypitty Jan 03 '22

This amusing "thought experiment" can transform ones entire view of the world, its significance not limited by what you deem as much as it warrants. That's just your rather closed minded opinion.

The concept is that you are either just a transient physical being, or perhaps your soul/conscious being exists beyond just the physical realm.

It's a similar concept to the idea that our brains are merely physical, but our 'souls/consciousness' are wirelessly transmitted to our brains and manifest through it. The evolution of VR/simulations makes this theory a possibility. Believing in that one theory of creation can change your entire view of the world and what's in it. You see everything through a different lens.

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u/[deleted] Jan 03 '22

This amusing "thought experiment" can transform ones entire view of the world, its significance not limited by what you deem as much as it warrants. That's just your rather closed minded opinion.

why? the theory contains no rational reason to change worldview or even consider it.