Post by Albany Turcio on Jul 19, 2016 1:47:50 GMT
1.Explain the virtual simulation theory of consciousness.
In “Is The Universe an App?”, the virtual simulation theory of consciousness is described as, “Consciousness is a fantastic virtual simulator and because of its inclusivity and insular engineering it has an inherent tendency to believe its own machinations as exterior to itself and not as the byproduct of its own interiority”(Lane 75). In simpler terms, this is explaining that our minds perception of the world can easily be fooled or misinterpreted. Our consciousness is what provides us with our view of the world, but like the theory suggests, it is merely a virtual simulator. A simulator models what it is trying to reproduce, so therefore for this theory the consciousness is only setting a model of the world. So based on the virtual simulation theory of consciousness, we can hypothesize that the world we see is just a “model” of the world, but is not truly an accurate representation of it.
2.How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
As stated above, we see the world through our consciousness. The consciousness gathers information for us to experience the world through our senses. Our senses help us determine what is in our surroundings and what is safe and harmful to us. This then helped the human race evolve into one of the smartest species on Earth. Through this evolution, we then gained strength in knowledge of our surroundings and the knowledge to know what to stray away from.
Then in “A Glorious Piece of Meat” video enlightens us, that the brain provides our body's with major bodily processes automatically in order to survive. “I don't digest my food. I don't beat my heart. I don't develop antibodies to ward off disease” and the list goes on and on. The brain works day and night, making various parts of our body work properly, in order for our bodies to stay running healthily.
In “Is The Universe an App?”, the virtual simulation theory of consciousness is described as, “Consciousness is a fantastic virtual simulator and because of its inclusivity and insular engineering it has an inherent tendency to believe its own machinations as exterior to itself and not as the byproduct of its own interiority”(Lane 75). In simpler terms, this is explaining that our minds perception of the world can easily be fooled or misinterpreted. Our consciousness is what provides us with our view of the world, but like the theory suggests, it is merely a virtual simulator. A simulator models what it is trying to reproduce, so therefore for this theory the consciousness is only setting a model of the world. So based on the virtual simulation theory of consciousness, we can hypothesize that the world we see is just a “model” of the world, but is not truly an accurate representation of it.
2.How does the brain trick us and for what benefit is it for our genetic survival?
As stated above, we see the world through our consciousness. The consciousness gathers information for us to experience the world through our senses. Our senses help us determine what is in our surroundings and what is safe and harmful to us. This then helped the human race evolve into one of the smartest species on Earth. Through this evolution, we then gained strength in knowledge of our surroundings and the knowledge to know what to stray away from.
Then in “A Glorious Piece of Meat” video enlightens us, that the brain provides our body's with major bodily processes automatically in order to survive. “I don't digest my food. I don't beat my heart. I don't develop antibodies to ward off disease” and the list goes on and on. The brain works day and night, making various parts of our body work properly, in order for our bodies to stay running healthily.