Philosophy Now Forum

But would it not be the laws of nature are like we think they are, the laws of the simulation? I think, but am not sure, that the question is, is this a simulation or an emulation? If its 'simulation' that is. Hmm, is your point that if we are in a simulation (or whatever else we should call it), t...

In fact, a quick perusal of the paper (very quick, so I may be wrong about all of this) suggests that all of the assumptions are based upon factors within our universe, in particular human progress. This is nonsensical, inferring properties of the simulator from a human perspective. I am not sure t...

I take it this is a reference to Nick Bostrom's work: http://www.simulation-argument.com/ The conclusion is preposterous, but it is hard to say precisely what is wrong with the argument. My own view is that the argument makes too many assumptions, for example about what future people will be interes...

Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi for most of the orthodox Jews in Britain, has responded to Stephen Hawking. He is quoted as saying "The Bible simply isn’t interested in how the Universe came into being". So what is the opening of Genesis all about, then? (I have the Sacks quote from the Daily ...

If I am correct, or if I think that? Like I said, if you are correct, it will be because you won the Philosophical Lottery. Sorry Typist, I mis-read your initial comment. I read it as "if the proposition that you believe is true", whereas I think you meant "if you have come to believ...

I am sure that atheism is correct. I am sure that if you are correct, it is due to the laws of random chance. If I am correct, or if I think that? A claim that I am correct by reason of "the laws of random chance" sounds like a claim that there could have been a god, but it just didn't wo...

I don't know precisely what Hawking is claiming, although I am sure that atheism is correct. Those who are interested in arguments in this general area might like to look at some of Quentin Smith's papers, available here:

http://www.qsmithwmu.com/philosophy_of_religion.htm

Hello Bytesplicer It sounds as though what you propose is, or is very close to, fractals generated by iterated function systems. Yes, you can certainly have an arbitrarily long boundary enclosing an area that is less than a given finite number. An obvious example is the Mandelbrot set. I think that ...

Ah, now I think I understand. I was thrown by your use of the term "surface area" for circumference. The circumference is a length, not an area. So is the idea to keep the circle shape at a certain level of resolution, but to make the boundary wiggle, so as to make it longer, with the wigg...

Now, say you want to increase the surface area of this system, with the constraint that the area must remain constant. How can this be achieved? I am not sure exactly what is meant here. You seem to be saying that you want to increase and keep constant the same thing. But subject to that doubt, is ...

Hello Tom You will not be surprised to hear that I side with artisticsolution, and against Minogue, on this one. Minogue may have a point about the history that has actually occurred. That is, Christianity may have played helpful roles. But consider an alternative history in which Christianity, and ...

Firstly, am I right in assuming that the passage on individualism is from the book by Richard Baron? No, that's not me. But it is very interesting. The question that strikes me as most interesting in all this is, what are the conditions for liberty and individualism? Those conditions probably do in...

Sorry it wasn't to your taste. I described it as semi-technical when recommending it in your other thread on the topic. Perhaps I should have left out "semi-". I take the point that it does not set out, in an easily digestible form, the full content of Gödel's theorems. But I fear that one...

Artisticsolution, you just can't beat a good Bruckner symphony. And most of them are around an hour long, which is a reasonable length.

Well, I'm currently reading 1984 and the more I read the more I think we are not that far away from a world where we are watched all the time and only our thoughts are free as long as we don't speak them. Fortunately, we have weapons in our hands. Wikileaks is wonderful. Blogs run from small countr...