#3 has two branches. I agree that if mental things are ontologically basic, then supernatural explanations for things in general, including God, become more probable. But again this isn’t nearly enough to establish your God in particular, as opposed to lesser spirits and whatnot. So it’s not a crux for me.
On the other branch, I do find it plausible that a full-brain simulation could be conscious, and that it follows that the apparent universe around us could also be simulated, because we have no access to the Universe outside of our perceptions. And then yes, there could be a programmer, which would qualify as being a Higher Power.
But the Programmer seems to be incompatible with the Christian God. After all, the programmer could also have a programmer. And there could be multiple programmers who work on your simulation. Polytheism? And then there could be multiple instantiations of you in this moment. Run on different computers. Programmed by different Programmers. And because we’re assuming reducible perception in this branch, there’s simply no fact of the matter as to which one of them you are. They’re bit-for-bit identical. Which Programmer is God? This branch is not a crux for me either.
#3 has two branches. I agree that if mental things are ontologically basic, then supernatural explanations for things in general, including God, become more probable. But again this isn’t nearly enough to establish your God in particular, as opposed to lesser spirits and whatnot. So it’s not a crux for me.
On the other branch, I do find it plausible that a full-brain simulation could be conscious, and that it follows that the apparent universe around us could also be simulated, because we have no access to the Universe outside of our perceptions. And then yes, there could be a programmer, which would qualify as being a Higher Power.
But the Programmer seems to be incompatible with the Christian God. After all, the programmer could also have a programmer. And there could be multiple programmers who work on your simulation. Polytheism? And then there could be multiple instantiations of you in this moment. Run on different computers. Programmed by different Programmers. And because we’re assuming reducible perception in this branch, there’s simply no fact of the matter as to which one of them you are. They’re bit-for-bit identical. Which Programmer is God? This branch is not a crux for me either.