It is fun to think about the Simulation Theory but most discussions revolve around it being likely that we are in one.
What are some concrete reasons why it’s all science fiction and not reality?
It is fun to think about the Simulation Theory but most discussions revolve around it being likely that we are in one.
What are some concrete reasons why it’s all science fiction and not reality?
When people had analogue technology (radio/phonograph) there was no solid concept of the universe being a simulation.
Once digital technology arrives(computers/smartphones)… “hey, did you hear? We are living inside a computer simulation”.
This philosophical jump is due to thought and interactions being shifted to digital/online modes rather than face to face or analogue modes.
Those who predominantly have personal interactions, more than digital interactions, I doubt would feel anything like a simulation occuring.
There is much to be gained from a balance of the two.
In today’s world we envision of “simulated reality” achieved via digital technology but the concept isn’t completely new. Philosophers of bygone eras would use different metaphors, for instance as our lives existing inside a slumbering god/demon’s dream or within the snow globe of an outside dimension that we can’t fathom.
I’d argue that Neoplatonism is very close to the idea of the world being a simulation. “The One” is a creative power that made all things, itself being beyond existing. That neatly corresponds to the idea of a machine simulating us, as it itself is not simulated, but simulates.
Even Plato can be seen in that light. There exists a world of perfect forms, and this is but a projection = There is a reality the simulation is based on and computed. Our souls know everything in their pure states outside the bodies = The class is on the same level as all other data until you instantiate it.
Of course nobody talked about computers, but the general idea was there. The simulation theory could be seen as just fleshing out the technical details, but the architecture was there for a while. Not that I necessarily agree with either, I just think that the simulation theory is not really a new concept in its core.
Plato’s “the cave” thought experiment (circa 400 BC) is basically a suggestion of simulation. Modern science agrees - human perception of reality is limited and effectively a simulation. You don’t need modern digital technology to imagine living in a simulation.