Would it change how you feel about being you if you knew you were “just a machine�
Would it change how you feel about being you if you knew you were “just a machine�
Couple of definitions for the above question and my post.
“Machine†– by this I don’t necessarily mean a machine that is inherently deterministic or a machine that has been created by any “designer†but rather something that can and is describe totally by the “physical†meat sack that we all seem to be able to agree we do perceive.
“Knew†– this is a “thought experiment†style of question so please try to imagine if somehow, by whatever means you require, it was “proven†just for this thread.
I know many Members strongly hold the opinion that human beings are something other than a machine and it seems to me as if some of those Members hold that opinion (at least partly) because they believe that would somehow lessen what they believe themselves and others to be (and for other emotional reasons).
I’m hoping people will post here about why they believe it makes a difference or not to the way they feel about themselves if they knew they were “just a machineâ€. What I’m not interested to hear about in this thread is people’s metaphysical inclinations, whether dualism/idealism/materialism is incoherent, or that everyone else’s understanding of the world is plain screwy, there are plenty of other threads to discuss the “whichness of the whyâ€.
Here I’m asking it to be about the personal, emotional reaction to the (hypothetical) knowledge in my question.
If tomorrow someone presented evidence that persuaded me we were (or were not) “just machines†I don’t think it would make any difference to how I feel about myself. It would probably influence areas I would look into but as a person it wouldn’t change me.
If I’m just a bag of chemicals that reacts to stimulus from my environment I can’t see why that would or even should make me feel less about my perceived individualism or humanity. That it could be proven that my Mother loves me because of complex physical processes seems to be an irrelevance, I would still love her and still appreciate her love, why wouldn’t I? That I enjoy reading a book or some other pastime is not diminished for me if that was proven to be nothing more then complex processes.
(The thread was inspired by a comment by Meadmaker in this thread: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57411)
(Edited for words and formatting.)
Would it change how you feel about being you if you knew you were “just a machine�
Couple of definitions for the above question and my post.
“Machine†– by this I don’t necessarily mean a machine that is inherently deterministic or a machine that has been created by any “designer†but rather something that can and is describe totally by the “physical†meat sack that we all seem to be able to agree we do perceive.
“Knew†– this is a “thought experiment†style of question so please try to imagine if somehow, by whatever means you require, it was “proven†just for this thread.
I know many Members strongly hold the opinion that human beings are something other than a machine and it seems to me as if some of those Members hold that opinion (at least partly) because they believe that would somehow lessen what they believe themselves and others to be (and for other emotional reasons).
I’m hoping people will post here about why they believe it makes a difference or not to the way they feel about themselves if they knew they were “just a machineâ€. What I’m not interested to hear about in this thread is people’s metaphysical inclinations, whether dualism/idealism/materialism is incoherent, or that everyone else’s understanding of the world is plain screwy, there are plenty of other threads to discuss the “whichness of the whyâ€.
Here I’m asking it to be about the personal, emotional reaction to the (hypothetical) knowledge in my question.
If tomorrow someone presented evidence that persuaded me we were (or were not) “just machines†I don’t think it would make any difference to how I feel about myself. It would probably influence areas I would look into but as a person it wouldn’t change me.
If I’m just a bag of chemicals that reacts to stimulus from my environment I can’t see why that would or even should make me feel less about my perceived individualism or humanity. That it could be proven that my Mother loves me because of complex physical processes seems to be an irrelevance, I would still love her and still appreciate her love, why wouldn’t I? That I enjoy reading a book or some other pastime is not diminished for me if that was proven to be nothing more then complex processes.
(The thread was inspired by a comment by Meadmaker in this thread: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57411)
(Edited for words and formatting.)
