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Personal Identity
Brains in Vats
(Text as at 18/08/2009 20:39:50)
*** THIS IS NOT THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS NOTE ***
(For the live version and other versions of this Note, see the tables at the end)
There are three sorts of possibility:-
- The traditional disembodied brain in a vat of nutrients, connected to the world by input sensory and output motor devices.
- The Matrix-case, where the “vat” is a living human body, but where we have the same exchange of sensory and motor messages with a computer. I have a real body1, but not the one I think I have.
- The simulation case (which depends on Functionalism2 for any plausibility whatever), whereby I am living in a computer simulation. I am a computer program.
I’m not sure how well-motivated this possibility is for an explanation of what we are3. Within the context of my research project, I’ve no interest in the sceptical use of this TE4, but there may be other uses. "Bostrom (Nick) - Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?" argues that it is highly probable that we are computer simulations. "Chalmers (David) - The Matrix as Metaphysics" (I think) takes the possibility of our being brains in vats more seriously than might have been expected.
This Note is mostly a place-holder5. See the categorised reading-list below.
Live Version of this Archived Note
Table of the 3 Earlier Versions of this Note
Table of the 7 Later Versions of this Note
| This version updated |
Reading List for this Topic |
Parent Topic |
| 18/08/2009 20:39:50 |
Brains in Vats |
Brain |
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