Difference between revisions of "Simulation Argument"
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| − | The Simulation Argument is a thesis set out in a 2003 paper <ref>Bostrom, N., (2003), Philosophical Quarterly , Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. , available from: http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html</ref> by [[Nick Bostrom]], a [[transhumanism| Transhumanist]] | + | The '''Simulation Argument''' is a thesis set out in a 2003 paper<ref>Bostrom, N., (2003), Philosophical Quarterly , Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. , available from: http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html</ref> by [[Nick Bostrom]], a [[transhumanism|Transhumanist]] philosopher, in which he argues that the scenario depicted in the film [[The Matrix]] is correct, and that the world that we see around us is merely a [[computer simulation]]. |
This paper begins by arguing for the logic disjunction between the following three propositions propositions: | This paper begins by arguing for the logic disjunction between the following three propositions propositions: | ||
| − | # The human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a | + | # The human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a "post-human" stage; |
| − | # Any | + | # Any post-human civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); |
# We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. | # We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. | ||
| − | The paper then goes on to argue that as there is a significant chance that we will one day become | + | The paper then goes on to argue that as there is a significant chance that we will one day become post-humans who run ancestor-simulations, therefore it is almost certain that we are living in a computer simulation<ref>see [[Nick Bostrom]]'s website at http://www.simulation-argument.com/</ref> Since 2003 there has been a lot of interest in the idea, especially with the online community.<ref>see, for example the debates and material at: http://www.simulism.org</ref> |
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| − | [[ | + | [[Category:Philosophy]] |
Latest revision as of 19:20, July 13, 2016
The Simulation Argument is a thesis set out in a 2003 paper[1] by Nick Bostrom, a Transhumanist philosopher, in which he argues that the scenario depicted in the film The Matrix is correct, and that the world that we see around us is merely a computer simulation.
This paper begins by arguing for the logic disjunction between the following three propositions propositions:
- The human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a "post-human" stage;
- Any post-human civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof);
- We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.
The paper then goes on to argue that as there is a significant chance that we will one day become post-humans who run ancestor-simulations, therefore it is almost certain that we are living in a computer simulation[2] Since 2003 there has been a lot of interest in the idea, especially with the online community.[3]
References
- â Bostrom, N., (2003), Philosophical Quarterly , Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. , available from: http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html
- â see Nick Bostrom's website at http://www.simulation-argument.com/
- â see, for example the debates and material at: http://www.simulism.org