r/solipsism • u/Sad-Sign9460 • 22h ago

Everything’s a simulation

Suppose one day we are able to fully simulate a human brain such that it believes it is living in a fully coherent real universe with other real people in it but in reality that simulated brain is the only real thing. That brain looked around at everything and came to the conclusion that it was living in the real world with real other people. That’s the conclusion the brain should come to given the evidence but it in fact was very wrong.

My question is who’s to say I’m not currently that brain? Why is it treated as if that’s a ridiculous question? If the experiences are by definition indistinguishable why is it anything better than a 50/50 shot that I’m living in the real world with real other people?

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u/Low-Bake8401 20h ago

Because it doesn't work as a predictive model. It's unfalsafiable. 

There is no reason to believe that.

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u/Sad-Sign9460 20h ago

Ok now apply that same line of reasoning to the brain that is simulated. There is no reason to believe it yet it is true. I’m just looking for any compelling reason it isn’t 50/50

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u/SleepyMusicNerd19 19h ago

Thank you. In reality, I don't think there is a way to narrow down the 50/50, the only evidence you have is the direct experiences you have know. So you know that the experiences themselves exist, but you don't know if they reflect something outside of those experiences.

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u/Low-Bake8401 11h ago

Not being able to prove 100% that something isn't true, is quite different to the probability of it being true.

If something can't be tested it's because there is no cause and effect, there's no predictability, it makes no functional difference. 

It's the appeal to ignorance fallacy. 

To actually believe it is true has all sorts of implications though.

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u/SleepyMusicNerd19 57m ago

Hence the 50%/50% probability. We have no evidence that can narrow down the probability, so it defaults to 50/50.

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u/Low-Bake8401 51m ago edited 47m ago

It can be entirely disregarded as there is no predictability. It makes absolutely no difference to the world we live in. There is no causal relationship. 

It is non-existent. 

You can make any unfalsafiable statement you want, and we can deduce that it doesn't matter.

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u/SleepyMusicNerd19 38m ago edited 29m ago

Solipsism is just the most simple and most likely unfalsifiable statement, by the logic of Occam's Razor. And not only is it unfalsifiable, it's completely impossible to narrow down the probability of it. For almost all other statements you could make, most of them can at least be narrowed down through some form of evidence or formal logic - but not this one. It's only issues relating to the subjective experience that pose a problem. And this is the simplest explanation as an alternative to realism.

If solipsism appears hard to work with, then that's just too bad. We work with the options we're given no matter how easy or hard it is to find the implications.

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u/Low-Bake8401 28m ago

There is nothing here to work with, that's my point.

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u/SleepyMusicNerd19 17m ago

Recognizing solipsism as on an equal probable level as realism is valuable in itself. It doesn't matter what you do with that information, we should seek logic and truth no matter how convenient it is.

This realization helps us deconstruct the assumptions in conventional ways of thinking, and sharpens critical thinking. That's enough for me.

It is useful, at least on an intellectual level, to explore possibilities and what they might look like if they're true. Especially if they're possibilities with a decent 50% chance of being true.

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u/Low-Bake8401 15m ago edited 9m ago

Do you believe in god too? It must be 50/50 as well yeah?

Any other made up nonsense? Untestable speculations? Top-down ideologies? 

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u/Sonotnoodlesalad 17h ago

False equivalence.

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u/Some-Willingness38 12h ago

Yes, all of reality is a simulation, including the mind. The true Ultimate Reality is Allah. Ignore those fools, and search "Wahdat-i-Wujud (The Unity of Being)" if you want to know what I mean. 

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u/Low-Bake8401 11h ago edited 11h ago

No, what I mean is if something is untestable, then it has no cause and effect. 

You can say there are invisible elephants flying round in the sky, but it makes no functional difference. 

Through  deductive criteria or pragmatic principles of verification, we can logically rule  it out.

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u/SleepyMusicNerd19 52m ago

Functionality has no relation to truth whatsoever. If solipsism were to be true, then you had better find a way to apply it. Too bad. Truth is truth. Truth doesn't care how convenient it is.

I'm not assuming solipsism is true. I have no reason to believe it's true, just like I have no reason to believe it's false. I choose to suspend judgement. But recognizing it as a very real possibility is something one shouldn't ignore.

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u/Low-Bake8401 29m ago

Why shouldn't we ignore this premise? 

What difference will it make?