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All of Piecewise's Comments + Replies

Zombies Redacted
Piecewise40

"a being that is exactly like you in every respect—identical behavior, identical speech, identical brain; every atom and quark in exactly the same position, moving according to the same causal laws of motion—except that your zombie is not conscious."

As someone with a medical background, I find it very hard to believe this is possible. Not unless Consciousness is reduced to something so abstract and disconnected from what we consider our "Selves" as to render it almost meaningless. After all, traumatic brain injury can alter every aspect... (read more)

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2Ian Wardell
@Piecewise  You don't appear to be discussing p-zombies at all Significant damage to the lenses in one's eyeglasses significantly impacts one's ability to see.  Doesn't mean I can't see perfectly when I whip them off.   And I have no idea why a disembodied consciousness would have no concept of self and no memories.  Consciousness and memories are properties of the self.  Our recollections are impeded due to the brain, that obviously doesn't apply in a disembodied state.  
3kilobug
I agree with your point in general, and it does speak against an immaterial soul surviving death, but I don't think it necessarily apply to p-zombies. The p-zombie hypothesis is that the consciousness "property" has no causality over the physical world, but it doesn't say that there is no causality the other way around: that the state of the physical brain can't affect the consciousness. So a traumatic brain injury would (under some unexplained mysterious mechanism) reflect into that immaterial consciousness. But sure, it's yet more epicycles.
The map of future models
Piecewise20

I think you're incorrect about the wave model when you say it doesn't take technological progress into account. I think what it assumes is that technology will either not progress fast enough to halt the downfall, or that the downfall itself will halt or hinder technological progress. After all, tech progress requires an environment with not only the luxury of time but also an abundance of materials. The exhaustion of certain material resources, the loss of trade with producers of certain resources, loss of communication with others in the field slowing t... (read more)

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0turchin
The model just say that the tech. progress is not the main and overwhelming power. In this case all you said is valid. Your point about "postapocaliptic" world model is interesting and I will consider its including. But I think it should be different model.