On 4/23/2017 4:30 AM, Bruno Marchal wrote:
On 21 Apr 2017, at 21:20, John Clark wrote:
On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 4:33 AM, Bruno Marchal <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>wrote:
>
Physical computation needs matter, because a physical computation
is a mathematical computation implemented in a physical,
material, environment.
But computations does not need matter,
Suppose just for
the sake of argument that non-physical computations did not exist,
how would our physical world be different?
It would like if the number 2 does not exist. Well, using the
reversal, it would mean there is no physical universe possible at all.
But "the reversal" is what is in question.
Computation and "universal machine" are non physical notions,
discovered independently by mathematicians working in the foundations
of mathematics.
They are known, since long, to be arithmetical notions, even sigma_1
arithmetical notion.
We have some evidence that there is a physical reality which can
implement computations, but that does not entail that the physical
reality is primary.
So the existence of physical reality does not, so far as you arguments
go, entail a contradiction with the proposition that thinking can be
done by things other than brains.
On the contrary, the fact that the physical reality can implement
computations might suggest already that the physical reality might
emerge from computations. Then computationalism show that this has to
be the case.
I don't think so. Are you just claiming that if the world is computable
and therefore is possible we live in the movie "Matrix"?
If some primary matter can select a computations, or select a set of
computations, then, either it uses non computable elements, and we can
no more say "yes" to the doctor (computationalism is false), or it
does no use those non computable elements, but then the way that
primary matter act will appears in the universal dovetailing or
arithmetic.
If reality is physical (whatever that means) does that entail that there
is no UD?
Brent
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Everything List" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/everything-list.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
