MyKell

David Chalmers, a professor of philosophy at the University of Arizona is an expert on the philosophy of the mind. Recently he has posted this article on the official "Matrix" website/philosophy section. It is a philosophical framework for a metaphysical theory. I thought I could share it with you and hear what you have to say

John Page

But we are brains in vats, aren't we? Doesn;t this reduce to an intelligent design argument?

Cheers, John

Ensign Steve

I like that article! I think it was more interesting than the movie, itself. I have to say I was disappointed in the Matrix. Don't jump on me yet, let me explain! The special effects and stunts were awesome! The action was awesome! The story was decent. I have every intention of seeing the entire trilogy, and collecting the whole thing on DVD. But I remember the first time I saw the trailer for The Matrix, and I thought, "Woah, that movie is going to be great!" not for the stunts or action or special effects, but for the premise. From a philosophical standpoint, I thought it was going to blow my mind. And it didn't. You know what movie did? The Thirteeth Floor ! *blush* So there's no accounting for taste!

It was for that very reason that I was wary to see Minority Report. I also expected so much from that premise, but after getting shot down by The Matrix, I was afraid to get my hopes up again. But I finally got around to renting MR, and I was blown away! Sorry, way off topic by this point.

Jen

*We now return to your regularly scheduled thread.*

Badfish

Vats can't walk.

John Page

Legs aren't brains.

bentarm123

No - but they think they can.

MyKell

Nope. This is a metaphysical hypothesis. It has nothing to do with how things go in the physical world. Our ultimate metaphysical reality might be bits instead of, say, strings, but that doesn't mean that we were intelligently designed.

MyKell

Jen,
I thought 13th floor wasn't bad either. I still liked the matrix much better. There were no holes in the matrix built, unlike that of the 13th floor. Anyway, I think the coming two parts will add much more to the philosophy (like a matrix inside a matrix). Not another Kung Fu movie for sure

Ensign Steve

I hope you're right. I'm going into them with an open mind, that is for sure. Not that there's anything wrong with Kung Fu flicks!

Jen

John Page

MyKell:

Agreed. I was just poking at the potentially false dichotomoy between brains in vats and brains in human bodies. The point of the article is "How would we know?"

Cheers, John