All I see here is Tegmark re-hashed and some assertions concerning the proper definitions of words like “real” and “existence”. Taboo those, are you still saying anything?
I’m saying that our intuitive concepts of “real” and “existence” have no referents, that Tegmark’s restriction to computable structures is unnecessary, that nesting (ie. simulation) of worlds is an explicit causal dependence, and that Platonism needn’t be as silly and naïve as it sounds. Also to the extent that I am rehashing Tegmark, I’m doing so in order to combine it with Syntacticism and several other prerequisites in order to build a framework that lets me talk about “the existence of infinite sets”, because I think Eliezer’s ‘infinite set atheism’ is a confusion.
Have you read any of Paul Almond’s thoughts on the subject? Your position might be more understandable if contrasted with his.
I’ll read “Minds, Substrate, Measure and Value” (which seems relevant) and then get back to you on that one, ok?
I’m saying that our intuitive concepts of “real” and “existence” have no referents, that Tegmark’s restriction to computable structures is unnecessary, that nesting (ie. simulation) of worlds is an explicit causal dependence, and that Platonism needn’t be as silly and naïve as it sounds. Also to the extent that I am rehashing Tegmark, I’m doing so in order to combine it with Syntacticism and several other prerequisites in order to build a framework that lets me talk about “the existence of infinite sets”, because I think Eliezer’s ‘infinite set atheism’ is a confusion.
I’ll read “Minds, Substrate, Measure and Value” (which seems relevant) and then get back to you on that one, ok?
Thanks, that’s a concise and satisfying reply. I look forward to seeing where you take this.