Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I can't conceive of how there couldn't be. Your body gets sensory input, generates your mind and then your body experiences your mind. How could that possibly be dislocated from your body... The very idea is nonsense.



But this is dualism. I don't accept a difference between mind and body as a materialist.

edit: I can use a computer to remind me to use a computer to remind me about something. I can lose the use of my hands and eyes by severing biological wires. I can't pinpoint a distinction between me and the computer. I can't pinpoint a distinction between me and you, other than distance and mechanical connection (which we currently have, with some latency and signal distortion.)


"What is the difference between the speed and the car?"

The car is a thing, like your body. The speed is what the car is doing, like your mind is something your brain is doing. No problem, nothing to accept.

My own mind is something I am doing, just as I am typing just now. It should be obvious enough that neither is something you are doing.


I simply don't subscribe to self-causation.


OK, don't.

"Causation" is purely interpretation; the universe has nothing to do with that. People invented causation to help understand the universe, but there is nothing fundamental about it. So long as you think you need causation of any kind to understand consciousness, you will get nowhere.


> But this is dualism

No, you cannot deduce dualism from what I said. You filled in assumptions that aren't present and which I don't assert. It's just physicalism (materialism is an outdated term[1]) but would also work for neutral monism[2].

> I can't pinpoint a distinction between me and the computer. I can't pinpoint a distinction between me and you, other than distance and mechanical connection (which we currently have, with some latency and signal distortion.)

What? Maybe you need a psychiatrist now? This sounds like dpersonalization or derealization.

1. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/physicalism/

2. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/neutral-monism/


Don't diagnose me, I'm not saying anything that alarms me, causes me discomfort, or makes me enjoy life any less. I just don't hold to the idea of "myself" being a cause as axiomatic. You're free to express the distinction between my control of the computer and my control of my hand, but don't call me crazy, it's rude.




Consider applying for YC's W25 batch! Applications are open till Nov 12.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: