Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [simulated-universe]

It was Nick Bostrom who coined the "simulation hypothesis" but the concept of a simulated universe touches upon many related ideas: from Descartes' "evil genius" to Edgar Allan Poe's "Dream within a dream". Use this tag when manifest reality is contingent on the machination of a more "real" domain.

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Are we living in a simulation? The evidence

I am not questioning whether the simulation topic is outside science. I am asking what evidence there is or could be to resolve whether we are or not. Living in a simulation has been a topic for philosophy since at least Descartes, with his 'evil…
CriglCragl
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If we live in a simulated world, doesn't there have to be a first world that's real?

There are people who believe we live in a world, simulated on a computer. That computer must have been built in either another computer-generated world or a real world (by which I mean a non-simulated world). If it has been made in another…
Deschele Schilder
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If a person claims to know anything could it be disproven by saying 'prove that we are not in a simulation'?

Everyone starts out at 0 and if anyone wants to say that they know something they have to prove that claim. Is the counter to this person claiming that they know something logically correct? Person 1: 'I know that the sky is blue.' Person 2: 'You…
Rolf Haugaland
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Is the simulation hypothesis outside of science?

On the question of the simulation hypothesis (i.e. that reality is a simulation), a friend of mine once remarked he didn't accept it on the grounds of Ockham's razor. To me (with my admittedly instrumentalist view of science) this seems a misuse of…
James Tauber
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What is the best scientific argumentation against the Dust Theory?

The "Dust Theory", by Greg Egan, states that... ... there is no difference, even in principle, between physics and mathematics, and that all mathematically possible structures exist, among them our physics and therefore our spacetime. These…
Hugo Sereno Ferreira
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Does the Simulation Argument differ in essence from the Evil Genius puzzle?

I recently read an article that suggested we might be able to determine if we are part of a computer simulation run by our descendants. The idea seemed far-fetched, but after looking around, I see that it has been argued for by at least one…
Jon 'links in bio' Ericson
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Simulation argument and compressibility

Short version: Has anyone tried arguing against Bostrom's argument's final postulate from the compressibility viewpoint? Long version: As per Nick Bostrom's simulation argument if people can make simulations and are interested in making them, then…
Rijul Gupta
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Is dying in a simulation ever sufficient for death, and if not does that make death inconceivable?

Is dying in a simulation -- any simulation at all -- ever physically sufficient to die at that instant outside it? I mean a simulation like in the film the Matrix, or in a dream, one that kills your real body at the same instant that you seem to…
user44289
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How does the 'Brain in a Vat Argument' differ from the 'Simulation Argument'?

The brain in a bad vat argument states that we may be a brain plugged up to a supercomputer that simulates the external world by sending signals to the brain, just like the brain normally receives signals. The simulation argument states all of…
Oisin Spain
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Can it be shown that video games have in some way impacted philosophy or vice versa?

Video games are a quite recent invention and they became popular far after being invented, maybe by the 90s. However, I think video games somehow affected my worldview and produced some ideas. I will give a few examples of mine, which might or might…
rus9384
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Where is it that I go when I dream?

This is a question that I had posed regarding the nature of mental images described by patients who suffer from Charles Bonnet Syndrome here: What is the nature of the mental images that are perceived by patients who suffer from Charles Bonnet…
Somnis
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Did David Deutsch really disprove the Simulation Hypothesis?

In The Fabric of Reality (1997) by David Deutsch, he says: Imagine a computer built to render every possible Virtual Reality. Suppose all possible environments produced by this generator can be laid out sequentially, as Environment 1,…
christo183
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What is the most probable AI?

then I have a difficult question to ask. Let's imagine that in the distant future of our universe, through the arrangement of atoms that move in empty space, various objects are formed, any object can be formed, the important thing is that it does…
Zeruel017
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Logical/mathematical (non-physical) arguments against simulation hypothesis?

So the Simulation Hypothesis, from what I've heard, is not scientifically testable because it is not falsifiable, which makes perfect sense to me and is the viewpoint I have always adopted. Yet recently I have come across an argument from Michio…
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Simulation Hypothesis - trivial objection - what is the response?

There's a very simple objection to the simulation hypothesis that I came up with, and I've read others come up with this same idea. So I assume it's something philosophers should already be aware of. There are 2 possibilities: We're in a…
Ameet Sharma
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