Aware: Upload John S. Wilkins, 9 Nov 20239 Nov 2023 But, not bit… Why we will never be saved in computers One of the more common posthumanist themes is that we can download ourselves into a computer matrix of some kind (and indeed that we may even be in a matrix) and live forever (or until the matrix dies). As a thought experiment, this serves to challenge our intuitions and raise interesting questions, which is what thought experiments are supposed to do. The trouble begins when we take it seriously as a real option. Substack Share this:MastodonPrintEmailMoreMeWeRedditShare on TumblrPocket Related Cognition Epistemology Metaphysics Philosophy Technology
A quote: On philosophers and evolution 23 Mar 2010 Another curious aspect of the theory of evolution is that everybody thinks he understands it. I mean philosophers, social scientists, and so on. While in fact very few people understand it, actually, as it stands, even as it stood when Darwin expressed it, and even less as we now may… Share this:MastodonPrintEmailMoreMeWeRedditShare on TumblrPocket Read More
Can an atheist have a code of ethics? 5 Dec 20115 Dec 2011 I posted this on Quora, but I thought I might put it here as well, and add a couple of things: A while back I gave a talk to a group of theologians on the question of Darwinian accidents. It had no ethics content. The first question I was asked… Share this:MastodonPrintEmailMoreMeWeRedditShare on TumblrPocket Read More
You and me, baby, ain’t nothing but mammals 7 Apr 2010 The song of the title of this post is a catchy and highly amusing piece that suggests that if we’re just mammals we should have sex. It’s sort of a low brow version of Andrew Marvell’s To his coy mistress. Instead of Time’s wingéd chariot, we should do what mammals… Share this:MastodonPrintEmailMoreMeWeRedditShare on TumblrPocket Read More