Search found 10 matches

by monktastic
Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:42 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical
Replies: 104
Views: 29941

Re:

"other minds" require Faith. No, not faith, just the brutal self- understanding that, as I say up-thread, the average schmo (me, for example) is too friggin' stupid to be imagining 'the World'. If I'm too friggin' stupid to imagine the World, then the World must exist (separate from me, i...
by monktastic
Fri Nov 24, 2017 9:35 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical
Replies: 104
Views: 29941

Re: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical

Impenitent wrote: Thu Nov 23, 2017 11:16 pm the irony of making arguments (to other people) about the absolute impossibility of their existence is delicious...

-Imp
About the absolute impossibility of proving the existence of minds other than one's own. But I agree, it is delicious :P.
by monktastic
Fri Nov 24, 2017 9:33 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical
Replies: 104
Views: 29941

Re: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical

How about this: If mine is the only mind, then I must have brought myself into existence. If I have that ability, I should be able to control all aspects of my existence. In a dream, there are no other conscious characters, and yet (except during particularly lucid dreams) I cannot control anything...
by monktastic
Wed Nov 22, 2017 5:14 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical
Replies: 104
Views: 29941

Re: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical

or does it mean that their consciousness simply doesn't exist? A wonderful question. Since I find it impossible to conclusively pin down the meaning of "exist," let me instead offer an exercise and you can tell me how it goes. Check, very simply, whether it seems like something is happeni...
by monktastic
Wed Nov 22, 2017 4:52 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical
Replies: 104
Views: 29941

Re:

Solipsism is manure. Here's why... I know, as fact, I'm too friggin' dumb to imagine the world around me, so: 'sumthin' exists outside of me, independent of me. Solipsism: refuted, disproved, rendered into the fertilizer it always was. It's not my intention to debate solipsism here, but what you're...
by monktastic
Wed Nov 22, 2017 3:06 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical
Replies: 104
Views: 29941

Re: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical

Yes, idealism would fit the bill here. What surprises me is that there seem to be committed physicalists that recognize the irrefutability of solipsism. Perhaps I could have shortened the post and asked which of these they disagree with: 1. You can be certain of this "sheer fact of seeming"...
by monktastic
Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:09 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical
Replies: 104
Views: 29941

The irrefutability of solipsism and the recognition that consciousness is not physical

Apologies in advance for the lack of rigor and sophistication I'm about to display. Also for verbosity. I just want to be as clear as possible. tl;dr: If you recognize the impossibility of disproving solipsism, then it should be clear that consciousness is not meaningfully physical. It can be argued...
by monktastic
Mon Jul 17, 2017 4:18 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: Calling all consciousness deniers
Replies: 18
Views: 6560

Re: Calling all consciousness deniers

I don't think that people deny that things happen or that consciousness exists as a process. What people deny is that there are intermediary 'things' called qualia or phenomenal experiences or conscious experiences that come between us and reality. Materialists/physicalists, for instance, must eith...
by monktastic
Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:05 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: Calling all consciousness deniers
Replies: 18
Views: 6560

Re: Calling all consciousness deniers

Over the years I've had a number of curious conversations with people who claim it's reasonable to deny the existence of consciousness, but I've never really grokked their arguments. What do I mean by consciousness? I mean the sheer fact that something seems to be happening. You are looking for tho...
by monktastic
Thu Jul 13, 2017 10:32 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Mind
Topic: Calling all consciousness deniers
Replies: 18
Views: 6560

Calling all consciousness deniers

Howdy all, Over the years I've had a number of curious conversations with people who claim it's reasonable to deny the existence of consciousness, but I've never really grokked their arguments. I'm assuming there must be some such people on this board, and I'd like to figure out exactly what it is y...