wedrifid comments on Previous Post Revised - Less Wrong

12 Post author: komponisto 14 December 2009 06:56AM

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Comment author: wedrifid 14 December 2009 08:46:01PM 0 points [-]

the existence of ontological fundamental mental entities

Does that mean 'soul'?

Comment author: Jack 14 December 2009 09:50:52PM *  1 point [-]

It is a terrible turn of phrase, for sure. Souls are commonly conceived as one type of ontologically basic mental entity. God is another. Basically I take the claim "ontologically basic mental entities exist" to mean something like "there are things that think that do not have extension in space".

Edited: So that the words ontologically, basic and mental aren't repeated vertically three times right next to each other.

Comment author: Blueberry 14 December 2009 09:59:43PM 0 points [-]

So the number three doesn't exist? Freedom? Relationships? Holes?

Comment author: Jack 14 December 2009 10:33:48PM *  1 point [-]

This doesn't strike me as a serious question but it also isn't funny enough to definitely be a joke. So I'm not sure what you're doing.

My answer are exists, depends on what you mean, exists and exists.

Edit- with low confidence because ontology isn't something I'm that interested in and I have not thought a lot about these questions. The Holes piece is a classic one.

Comment author: Blueberry 14 December 2009 10:59:45PM 0 points [-]

Yeah, I love the Holes piece. I thought you were originally denying anything non-physical existed, but on re-reading it seems like you're just denying dualism. Sorry if I misread.

Comment author: Psychohistorian 23 December 2009 07:32:23PM 0 points [-]

Denying "the existence of ontological fundamental mental entities" is probably more efficiently expressed by, "I don't believe there are any minds without physical brains." This rules out God, ghosts, and pretty much all of the supernatural, since things like homeopathy are contingent on water being able to "remember" or "know" things.