(Well, actually there’s more to our differences than that. I think that asking “Will I be revived after the Singularity?” is like a little kid asking “Will there be Bugs Bunny cartoons in heaven?” Asking the question is at best humorous, regardless of whether the answer is yes or no. But for purposes of illustrating my point, the differing outside views is what matters.)
That is the real conversation halter. “Appeal to the outside view” is usually just a bad argument, making something silly regardless of the answer, that’s a conversation halter and a mind killer.
If something really is silly, then saying so is a mind-freer, not a mind-killer. If we were actually having that conversation, and I said “That’s silly” at the start, rather than at the end, you might accuse me of halting the conversation. This is a brief summary of a complicated position, not an argument.
That is the real conversation halter. “Appeal to the outside view” is usually just a bad argument, making something silly regardless of the answer, that’s a conversation halter and a mind killer.
If something really is silly, then saying so is a mind-freer, not a mind-killer. If we were actually having that conversation, and I said “That’s silly” at the start, rather than at the end, you might accuse me of halting the conversation. This is a brief summary of a complicated position, not an argument.