But your observation goes to the heart of my question. If we were indeed 'merely incidental' (from whose perspective?) then what would this say about the ethical position of the simulaters? Further, if we are merely playing the role of 'simple automata' then what is the purpose (from the simulaters' viewpoint) of our *conscious* fears, pains, loves, life struggle, and so forth? Are these just an unavoidable and unimportant (except to us) 'epiphenomenon' of the simulation method? Or are they what you mean by an 'interesting pattern'? Are we to take our creators' position as being 'superior' to ours and if so what does this imply for our own (periodic) moral delicacy about the rights and feelings of others - should we perhaps view this as mere naivety or lack of intelligence in the light of our masters' indifference to ours?
These are the issues I'm attempting to raise in the context of the 'simulation hypothesis'. Of course, there's an aspect of this that recapitulates the struggle throughout history to establish humane moral criteria in the face of various arbitrary and omnipotent god-figures, or for that matter 'blind necessity'. Even in the teeth of your creator, you are not forced to accept the justice of his position, even as you bow to his overwhelming force, as Job shows us. David --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---