On 30 Apr 2014, at 21:06, meekerdb wrote:
So what does "existence" mean besides stable patterns of
information, e.g. perception of the Moon, landing on the Moon, tidal
effects of the Moon,...
I distinguish the ontological existence, which concerns the primitive
objects that we agree to assume to solve or formulate some problem,
and the phenomenological, or epistemological existence, which are the
appearance that we derive at some higher "emergent" level.
With comp we need to assume a simple basic Turing complete theory
(like Robinson arithmetic, or the SK combinator). And we derive from
them the emergence of all universal machines, their interactions and
the resulting first person statistics, which should explains the
origin and development (in some mathematical space) of the law of
physics.
I like when David Mermin said once: "Einstein asked if the moon
still exist when nobody look at it. Now we know that the moon, in
that case, definitely not exist".
Well, that was a comp prediction, with the difference that the
moon doesn't exist even when we look at it.
Only the relative relations between my computational states and
infinitely many computations exists.
Thus completely eviscerating the meaning of "exist".
?
Are you not begging the question?
I would say that comp does not eviscerate the meaning of "exists".
The meaning is provides by the standard semantics of predicate
logic, where "exists" is a quantifier.
But that is quite a different sense of "exist".
It is most basic one, used at the ontic level. May be you *assume* a
notion of primitive physical existence. Then indeed, with comp we
assume only a simple notion of arithmetical existence (on which most
scientists agree) and derive the physical reality from an
epistemological type of existence.
It just means satisfying axioms and inferences from those axioms.
It means more, as we work in a theory which is supposed to be a theory
of everything. It is not pure logic or pure math. It is theology or TOE.
Depending on the axioms and the rules of inference you can prove
that something exists or that it cannot exist or that it might exist
but can't be proven.
We work in the comp frame. It presuppose you agree with sentences like
"it exist a number equal to the successor of the successor of 0", etc.
We want explain complex phenomena, from particles interactions to
conscious awareness, from simple basic assumption.
The choosing arithmetic as the base universal theory,
And choosing Christianity as the base universal theory.... And
choosing Marxism as the base universal theory....
I have never met a christian, nor a marxist, believing that elementary
arithmetic is false or useless.
I have met arithmeticians doubting Christianity and/or Marxism.
Elementary arithmetic is a "scientific" theory (even a sub-theory of
most applied scientific theories).
Christianity is a fuzzy and vague corpus of hope and belief,
presupposing too arithmetic.
To oppose or compare Christianity and arithmetic is no better than
opposing Christianity and Evolution Theory.
only number exists, some number functions and relation exists in a
related but slightly different sense, and then physical existence
is precisely define by the "existence" used in the modal context.
Roughly speaking, we have the intelligible existence the "E" of
arithmetic, then the modal existence:
with [i]p = []p & p, or []p & <>t, or []p & <>t & p, we have
different notion of existence of the type
[i]Ex([i]p(x) and also, (quantized existence) [i]<i>Ex([i]<i>p(x)).
Of course this needs the first order modal logic extending the
current propositional hypostases.
More on this in the math thread.
If my consciousness can survive a physical digital substitution,
then it survives an arithmetical digital substitution, and what
we call the moon has to be recovered as a stable pattern emerging
from an infinity of computations in arithmetic,
But only, I think, in a different digital universe in which "we"
are also stable patterns of relations.
By the FPI, we are distributed in infinitely many computations
(making the real universe appearance a non digital and unique (yet
multiversal) reality a priori).
And in THAT universe what "we" call "the Moon" is what "we" can
fly too and and on.
OK, then. but I was using the arithmetic TOE(*), and we have to be
clear on all the different notions of existence which emerge in it.
Bruno
(*) the TOE chosen is Robinson arithmetic. Precisely, it is
predicate logic + the non logical following axioms:
0 ≠ s(x)
s(x) = s(y) -> x = y
x = 0 v Ey(x = s(y))
x+0 = x
x+s(y) = s(x+y)
x*0=0
x*s(y)=(x*y)+x
An observer is a believer in the axioms above + some induction
axioms.
IF you can build a world out of those, THEN an a believer in those
axioms is an observer in THAT world. But that's a long way from
showing it's true of THIS world.
The term "world" is ambiguous. In our case, we derive a many-world
structure from those axioms.
The goal consists in explaining complex things from simple principle.
The physicalist string theory tries to do that too, but, as I
explained, has some issue with the mind-body problem.
I comment your other posts here:
The point is that "what we call the Moon" IS the Moon.
The question is: *what* is the moon, in the fundamental TOE (that
we derive from comp, for example).
If not, you become instrumentalist, and just abandon the idea of
searching a fundamental theory.
Not at all. The Moon is defined ostensively. But that doesn't mean
I'm prevented developing a theory about what it's made of, how it
formed, what effects it has, ... That's why I said you've been a
logician to long; you mistake a definition for the thing itself and
when it's defined you suppose nothing more can be said.
Doing that confusion would mean that I have not been a logician long
enough, as definition theory is part of logic. Such confusion are the
object of study of the logician, which are supposed to be expert on
this.
You don't define the moon ostensively. You provide evidence for a
possible repeatable and sharable experience, but that does not tell us
what the moon is, what ontological and epistemological status it can
have.
I am not sure of your motivation here. It looks like "don't ask
what is the fundamental nature of the things we talk about"?
My point is that such nature will depend of the fundamental
principle we agree on (if only for the sake of research: agreeing
on axioms does not mean knowing they are true of course (pace Craig).
I am just saying that if comp is true, existence of physical object
must be explain by "machine's theology or self-referential logics".
Sure. But why is that any more interesting than, "If theism is
true, existence of physical objects must be explained by theist
theology." ?
That correct, but less interesting because man fight on the theist
assumptions, which are hard to make precise. But comp is simpler, get
a lot of evidence, is believed/assumed by most scientist, and
machine's theology is a precise branch of math. Indeed we get testable
consequences, which is not clearly the case for the current theist
theology. The gain is there.
Note that any noun whatsoever can be inserted in place of "theism"
and it's still a true sentence. That's the beauty, and the failure,
of logic.
Not really. Many people believe in comp *and* in primitive physical
object. A priori that seems plausible, but the UDA shows that this is
not plausible. It is not obvious that if comp is true, physics becomes
reduced to intensional number theory. You need to study the comp mind-
body problem to understand the necessity of that reduction, in that
frame.
Logic fails anyway, that is why we need non logical axioms, like 0+x =
x, etc.
Last post:
That's why I wrote "what WE call the Moon". The meaning of terms in
language depends on agreed understanding of speaker and hearer. You
can't ostensively define the moon in your dreams to someone else.
I can, to someone else I am dreaming too.
I have no real problem with your "instrumentalist" definition of the
moon, but it is not enough for solving or progressing in the mind-body
problem, and in the question of the origin.
Bruno
http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/
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