Finally, we come to an absolutely terrifying idea I had a few days ago, which I naively assumed would catch the attention of any rational person. An extrapolation of Dust Theory [3] implied that you might die upon going to sleep, not immediately, but through degeneration, and that the person who wakes up in the morning is simply a different observer, who has an estimated lifespan of however long he remains awake. Rationally anyone should therefore sign up for cryonics and then kill themselves, forcing their measure to continue into post-Singularity worlds that no longer require him to sleep (not that I would have ever found the courage to do this). [4]
You say this is tremendously important, but you haven’t put in the rather minimal amount of effort necessary to show how it follows from accepted promises.
Sorry, but I often can’t expend a lot of energy in the middle of a panic attack. That’s why I go on sites where many people already are familiar with the premises.
It’s the panic attack, not the premises, that’s the problem. Lots of people spend time thinking about metaphysics and cosmology without making themselves sick.
Thing is, it sounds like the System 2 beliefs are justifying and protecting System 1 dysfunction. (“I should feel crappy, because the conditions of conscious existence are so fucked up.”)
From what I can tell, people who have been in this kind of situation and have successfully gotten out of it have done so by fixing the System 1 situation — the reaction of panic, anguish, and despair — and not by adopting new System 2 beliefs. Things that reportedly help include guided meditation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and guided use of various psychoactive drugs (ranging from antidepressants, anxiolytics, to various psychedelics in a therapeutic context, not in the wild).
In other words, this is probably not the sort of thing that can be fixed by reading the right philosophy or the right post on the web. Although it might disappoint Hermione Granger, reading the right book is not the solution to every problem. Rather, it is probably the sort of thing that requires the personal guidance of an experienced person in fixing the System 1 reactions that are causing you pain.
You say this is tremendously important, but you haven’t put in the rather minimal amount of effort necessary to show how it follows from accepted promises.
Sorry, but I often can’t expend a lot of energy in the middle of a panic attack. That’s why I go on sites where many people already are familiar with the premises.
It’s the panic attack, not the premises, that’s the problem. Lots of people spend time thinking about metaphysics and cosmology without making themselves sick.
Thing is, it sounds like the System 2 beliefs are justifying and protecting System 1 dysfunction. (“I should feel crappy, because the conditions of conscious existence are so fucked up.”)
From what I can tell, people who have been in this kind of situation and have successfully gotten out of it have done so by fixing the System 1 situation — the reaction of panic, anguish, and despair — and not by adopting new System 2 beliefs. Things that reportedly help include guided meditation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and guided use of various psychoactive drugs (ranging from antidepressants, anxiolytics, to various psychedelics in a therapeutic context, not in the wild).
In other words, this is probably not the sort of thing that can be fixed by reading the right philosophy or the right post on the web. Although it might disappoint Hermione Granger, reading the right book is not the solution to every problem. Rather, it is probably the sort of thing that requires the personal guidance of an experienced person in fixing the System 1 reactions that are causing you pain.
I don’t know who to talk to, in this case.
A good shrink.
Serious suggestion, not a status attack. I sympathize, and wish you well.
I remark that Scott Alexander (= Yvain) is (1) a top LW contributor and (2) training to be a psychiatrist.