Lesson plan

Simulation hypothesis

The simulation hypothesis proposes that what one experiences as the real world is actually a simulated reality, such as a computer simulation in which humans are constructs. There has been much debate over this topic in the philosophical discourse. Precursors include Zhuangzi's "Butterfly Dream" and René Descartes's "evil demon". In 2003, philosopher Nick Bostrom proposed the simulation argument suggesting that if a civilization becomes capable of creating conscious simulations, it could generate so many simulated beings that a randomly chosen conscious entity would almost certainly be in a simulation. This argument presents a trilemma: # either such simulations are not created because of technological limitations or self-destruction; # advanced civilizations choose not to create them; # if advanced civilizations do create them, the number of simulations would far exceed base reality and we would therefore almost certainly be living in one. This assumes that phenomenal consciousness is not uniquely tied to biological brains but can arise on systems implementing the right computational structures and processes. Variations on the idea have also been featured in science fiction, appearing as a central plot device in many stories and films, such as Simulacron-3 (1964), The Matrix (1999), and The Thirteenth Floor (1999).

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Article summary

The simulation hypothesis proposes that what one experiences as the real world is actually a simulated reality, such as a computer simulation in which humans are constructs. There has been much debate over this topic in the philosophical discourse. Precursors include Zhuangzi's "Butterfly Dream" and René Descartes's "evil demon". In 2003, philosopher Nick Bostrom proposed the simulation argument suggesting that if a civilization becomes capable of creating conscious simulations, it could generate so many simulated beings that a randomly chosen conscious entity would almost certainly be in a simulation. This argument presents a trilemma: # either such simulations are not created because of technological limitations or self-destruction; # advanced civilizations choose not to create them; # if advanced civilizations do create them, the number of simulations would far exceed base reality and we would therefore almost certainly be living in one. This assumes that phenomenal consciousness is not uniquely tied to biological brains but can arise on systems implementing the right computational structures and processes. Variations on the idea have also been featured in science fiction, appearing as a central plot device in many stories and films, such as Simulacron-3 (1964), The Matrix (1999), and The Thirteenth Floor (1999).

Key claims

  1. date of formation: 1990 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of formation is "1990". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1374031160

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.