Certainty thought experiment.

You might find what you are looking for in Descartes. Cogito ergo sum. You might suspend disbelief or belief with anything else, but can you doubt your own existence, even for the smallest fraction of time?

GregS said:

You might find what you are looking for in Descartes. Cogito ergo sum. You might suspend disbelief or belief with anything else, but can you doubt your own existence, even for the smallest fraction of time?

Click to expand...

If I can Imagine that my thoughts and actions, everything about me, is merely part of a simulation being played out by another creature in another realm, and that I am only being given the illusion that I exist... in that sense, I could doubt my own existence as merely an illusion.

So do you then doubt your existence?

GregS said:

So do you then doubt your existence?

Click to expand...

If I try, it seems as if I can.

Delusions are fun

If you exist as an illusion, don't you still exist?

GregS said:

If you exist as an illusion, don't you still exist?

Click to expand...

If you exist as an illusion, there are still only parts of you that can be illusory. Your own mind cannot be an illusion, because you're using it to question whether or not it's an illusion, proving its not illusory. If it were, you couldn't question reality in the first place.

There is no getting away from yourself.

GregS said:

There is no getting away from yourself.

Click to expand...

You, for all intents and purposes, are your mind.

Your body could be an illusion....

Scroga said:

Delusions are fun

Click to expand...

Tell Me about it, lol.

~PEACE~

Beefbisquit said:

You, for all intents and purposes, are your mind.

Your body could be an illusion....

Click to expand...

Why couldnt your "mind" be an electronic micro chip?

~PEACE~

Nevaeh420 said:

Why couldnt your "mind" be an electronic micro chip?

~PEACE~

Click to expand...

Your mind could be, but it has to exist.

Beefbisquit said:

If you exist as an illusion, there are still only parts of you that can be illusory. Your own mind cannot be an illusion, because you're using it to question whether or not it's an illusion, proving its not illusory. If it were, you couldn't question reality in the first place.

Click to expand...

Why cant the mind be an illusion given by a god?

Beefbisquit said:

Your mind could be, but it has to exist.

Click to expand...

So what youre saying is that we all could be living in the Matrix? Where all of our consciousness is just electronic chips?

~PEACE~

Zaehet Strife said:

Why cant the mind be an illusion given by a god?

Click to expand...

Welcome to gods Sim.

A very advanced race could have turned us all into the Sims.

Haha.

~PEACE~

Zaehet Strife said:

Why cant the mind be an illusion given by a god?

Click to expand...

Because an illusion doesn't have substance, or it's not an illusion, it's real. The fact that I'm using my mind to respond to you, means it can't be illusory. Your responses to me, could possibly be an illusion, but not my internal monologue and thought processes.

Good to see your sense of humor is doing fine George!

Scroga said:

Good to see your sense of humor is doing fine George!

Click to expand...

Thanks.

Yeah, Im fine, just a little bored with My Life.

Lol.

~PEACE~

"Why cant the mind be an illusion given by a god?"

Please define your terms. What are these gods? I really do not know and would sincerely like a response. I've never seen or heard from one.

Here's a question that I think might fit here. Either way.

If our universe was created from nothing, why would the universe be the only thing that was created? How could nothing differentiate the potential for everything? How certain are we that nothing still exists outside of the universe as the cause of that which is within it. And, most importantly, did nothing go somewhere else for a beer after?