Category Archives: Simulacrum

The realization that our feelings and thoughts are collectively a simulacrum which stands in for the unknown physical world around us. In human beings this is built around visual experiences which our brains have created—giving the appearance of a world surrounding us. The brain produces the simulacrum composed of objects that have properties, including motion and other information, thus making it knowable. In this way we have evolved a reliable stand-in for the unknowable physical reality that surrounds us and of which we are part.

Are Mountains Real?

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Dwight

[Post at Preface to Atheism, Apr 27, 2024.] When philosophers ask if something is real, they mean: Does it exist independently of our thoughts? Whose thoughts, exactly? Well, generally, human thoughts. Our in this context means us as a species. … Continue reading →

Posted in Naturalism, Nature of Knowledge, Preface to Atheism, Simulacrum | Leave a comment

Fallacies of the Naive Observer

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Dwight

Today I’m going to discuss a fallacy common to observers of the physical world (people like us), one which has significant practical importance. I call it the naive observer fallacy, and it goes something like this. (1) Observers bring biases … Continue reading →

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Mind is the Brain Improving Itself

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Dwight

Intelligence is being able to see what is right in front of you. Ignorance is looking at the world before you and seeing what you were taught to see. For thousands of years people looked at the night sky and … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheology, Naturalism, Nature of Knowledge, Simulacrum, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Rough Notes about Consciousness

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Dwight

I suspect that no topic has been obfuscated with more nonsense—religious, philosophical or scientific—than consciousness. First, the focus on what consciousness “is” usually starts at the wrong place, at what might be called “high up” complex consciousness, rather than beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheology, Naturalism, Nature of Knowledge, Simulacrum | 1 Comment

Do We Live in a Simulation?

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Dwight

The human brain creates a simulation of the world around us from sensory inputs. This simulation is inside of us, and can be analyzed and known and expanded with supplemental knowledge. But some (actual) scientists are confused. They wonder if … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheology, Naturalism, Nature of Knowledge, Simulacrum | 2 Comments

The Basics

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Dwight

For thousands of years philosophers have gotten the science of our existence wrong. They have mistakenly assumed that we know or perceive the world around us; we do not, we cannot. They have believed that our sense perceptions are direct … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheology, Evolution & ID, Meaning & Value, Naturalism, Nature of Knowledge, Simulacrum | 3 Comments

Cartesian Doubt

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Dwight

Philosophy begins with science. How do we know this? We can try to begin with philosophy. We can start with Cartesian doubt. Unfortunately for the history of philosophy, Rene Descartes did not take his first philosophy far enough. He began … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheology, Naturalism, Nature of Knowledge, Simulacrum | 5 Comments

Seeing Red – Understanding Consciousness

Posted on February 25, 2007 by Dwight

An article by John Searle (“Minding the Brain”) in the Nov 2, 2006 edition of The New York Review of Books shows how confused most of us (including philosophers & scientists) are about something as everyday as vision. Searle reviewed … Continue reading →

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