Does it matter to you because of semantic or moral reasons? I fail to see any moral difference in living in a virtual world as a meat brain vs living in a virtual world as a silicon brain. The semantic difference is obvious.
I suppose brains or selves don’t exist in reality either. I’m not sure what we’re getting at here. So where are categories then, if they don’t exist in reality?
Depends. You could have a robotic somatic component, or a human body grown in a vat.
I don’t see much difference between a human body grown in a vat and one grown in a womb.
But, generally speaking, in the context of wireheading the somatic component matters.
Does it matter to you because of semantic or moral reasons? I fail to see any moral difference in living in a virtual world as a meat brain vs living in a virtual world as a silicon brain. The semantic difference is obvious.
It matters for practical reasons. Self as an “information pattern” is an abstraction and abstractions do not exist in reality.
Do fluids and solids exist in reality?
Things with particular properties exist in reality, their categorization (e.g. into fluids and solids ) does not.
I suppose brains or selves don’t exist in reality either. I’m not sure what we’re getting at here. So where are categories then, if they don’t exist in reality?
Brains certainly do :-)
In your mind.
I’m pretty sure brain is a category too. Certainly more so than fluid or solid.