G.E. Moore pretty much ended the whole "Brain in a Vat" discussion
By
FoldingShark
on April 03, 2008
Here's a paraphrase:
1) Here's a middle finger
2) Here's another middle finger
3) Therefore, at least two fingers exist
-----
.: Things exist
Is anything you're going to tell me about being a brain in a vat and sensory experience and blah blah blah REALLY going to be more convincing than my own hand in front of my face?
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Discussion (4)
I don't think anyone actually believes that they're a brain in a vat, but it's still discussed. The argument that convinces me is that experience is so rich that simulating it would be extraordinarily onerous.
Well, onerous in the extreme, but you could probably do it.
Or, you know, well, someone could do it. The guy who put the brain in the vat in the first place.
Sure, and maybe the world I experience is much simpler than the world of the brain in the vat, and so simulating it is easy.
I believe I'm an appendix in a vat.