Option 1: Free Will
Imagine that we discover that the “simulation hypothesis” is correct.
The simulation hypothesis is the belief that we all live in a computer simulation. Picture something like “The Matrix” except that we do not have physical bodies hooked into the computer system. Instead, we are merely computer programs being run in a simulation designed by some more advanced civilization.
There are actually people who believe this hypothesis, by the way. The billionaire Elon Musk, for example.
Make sure that you pay attention to the assignment parameters that follow the video.
So, here is the hypothesis in a nutshell:
You and all other people are computer programs.
The entire world that you believe you are experiencing is
a simulation, right down to the smallest details of physics. This is basically a physics simulator.
It simulates the movement of atoms from a set of initial conditions. “People” are not programmed into it—they arise from the physics of the simulated word just as we imagine they did in our real physical world.
There was a simulated big bang, a simulated evolutionary history, etc. This was not planned by the programmers–it arose from the simulation.
Assume that the simulation is run on a computer that works like our digital computers do today—just much bigger and more powerful. E.g. Nothing is truly random.
The computer works basically like the computers we understand work—it is simply much, much more powerful.
It is perhaps a computer created by humans or other aliens who are much more advanced than we are who are running an “ancestry” simulation or simulations on various paths evolution might take.
Important note: Under this thought experiment, each human wasn’t individually programmed. Instead a simulation of the Earth or the universe was run that simulated all the motions of atoms from a set of starting conditions. Through the same processes of evolution etc that scientists understand now, people came to exist, develop a civilization etc.
It just so happens that all of this is taking place inside of a giant “Earth simulator.” That is to say that nobody sat down to program what “Bob” would do today. Nevertheless, everything that “Bob” does is determined algorithmically as the computer simulates all the physics of the universe.
That is enough information to go on, but if you want to know a bit more about the simulation hypothesis, you can view this video:Simulation Hypothesis
Here is the question you should investigate for your essay, using this hypothesis:
What would the simulation hypothesis mean for free will?
Discuss hard determinism, libertarianism, and soft determinism/compatibilism, then take a position.
The determinism/indeterminism dilemma may also be important.
Remember, your goal is to demonstrate your understanding of these theories by explaining them and investigating what it would mean if the simulation hypothesis were true.
You are not trying to determine if the simulation hypothesis is true.
Another potential thing to consider: What, if anything, would these conclusions mean for our own universe even if it is not simulated and why.
Again: Remember that the goal is to demonstrate your understanding of important terms, concepts, theories, and the reasons why they are held by the philosophers who defend them.
Do not get caught up in arguing about whether or not the simulation hypothesis is true or not. The idea is to use this as a springboard from which to talk about the theories of Free Will by showing that you understand what it would mean for those theories.
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