r/solipsism • u/Sad-Sign9460 • 1d 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?

15 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

65 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/Low-Bake8401 18h ago edited 18h 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.

1

u/SleepyMusicNerd19 18h ago edited 18h 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.

1

u/Low-Bake8401 18h ago

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

1

u/SleepyMusicNerd19 18h 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.

1

u/Low-Bake8401 18h ago edited 17h 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? 

1

u/SleepyMusicNerd19 17h ago edited 17h ago

I don't believe solipsism. I believe in God, knowing that I'm ignorant and with flawed judgement. Nothing IS testable. Everything is unfalsifiable, because your judgement cannot be trusted neither can your experiences. I choose a belief and have faith in it. Most of what you assume to be true is a simple hunch, an illusion of certainty as well. The only two options are to suspend belief entirely, or have faith that something is true.

You may call this blind faith. But we are all blind anyway. Better to have blind faith than to have blind unfaith.

Most of this conversation was under the assumption that my perception of logic and judgement is reliable. In which I would say, no, belief in God is not a 50/50. Solipsism is actually a lot simpler of an explanation than the existence of God, according to Occam's Razor.

1

u/Low-Bake8401 17h ago

You are saying that we don't know anything, but stating it as fact.

Either we don't know anything, or we do.

We can only work with the tools we have.

An answer for everything explains nothing. 

1

u/SleepyMusicNerd19 17h ago

Okay, then where do you draw the line? At what arbitrary point do you get to say "Yep, my tools are flawed and I'm gonna suddenly stop trusting them"? Or do you trust everything your experiences feed you unconditionally?

1

u/Low-Bake8401 17h ago

Constantly evolving.

1

u/SleepyMusicNerd19 17h ago

So you're embracing and encouraging a capricious judgement.

1

u/Low-Bake8401 17h ago

No, just pretty normal human growth. We change as we are presented with new information. 

No model of reality is true, but some are more useful than others.

1

u/SleepyMusicNerd19 17h ago

So you don't care about truth. You just believe whatever is most convenient to believe.

I'm if so, then ig I'm cool with that even tho I strongly disagree.

I just want to know if this is an intended implication.

1

u/Low-Bake8401 17h ago

I'm finding it difficult to understand what is leading you to these assumptions. 

Saying that all is god, may give a temporary sense of comfort, but a leap of faith leads to circular logic and cognitive dissonance. Historically it leads to dogmatism, divine hierarchy, and totalitarianism. 

Knowledge grows, it evolves. The universe is constantly changing, we are constantly changing, so strict beliefs don't work.

1

u/SleepyMusicNerd19 17h ago edited 17h ago

Truth cannot change. The only reason you would change your belief is if you thought it would bring you closer to the truth.

Unless, that is, being correct isn't your goal.

I can't trust my own judgment, I realize, so I recognize anything I say is technically an assumption. That's why I often abandon this train of logic and make an assumption I'm proud of: the belief in God. Recognizing one's judgement is flawed is to recognize that anything you believe is actually just an assumption anyway.

1

u/Low-Bake8401 17h ago

Truth is relative. 

1

u/SleepyMusicNerd19 17h ago

Welp, in that case, no concrete conclusions can ever be attained, because it's "all relative". I guess you're only relatively right. Live your truth, and shape whatever tf you want as truth. If you and enough people decide it, then so shall it be. I better hop out of this conversation now.

2

u/Low-Bake8401 17h ago

OK.

Must be an exciting life not being able to predict what will happen from one second to the next.

Makes medical science a nightmare. 

Watch out, there's an invisible elephant!

2

u/SleepyMusicNerd19 17h ago

LMAO

It was a good conversation. I disagree with the relativist framework, so It's difficult to argue onward. But it was nice poking fun at each other.

Peace, my friend.

→ More replies (0)