Mind without physical body assumption is not simpler than mind with body, because you must explain on how the mind ended up with no body. How can mind operate without body is far more complicated than starting with mind with body which is empirically and logically natural and sound. — Corvus
that it is psychologically impossible to believe, — Richard B
I once received a letter from an eminent logician, Mrs. Christine Ladd-Franklin, saying that she was a solipsist, and was surprised that there were no others. Coming from a logician and a solipsist, her surprise surprised me — Richard B
But how can something unextended 'expand'? — Clearbury
I think you have missed the point. Posits are not expalined, that's what makes them posits. Positing two things is more complicated than positing one, other things being equal. thus, I posit one thing - a mind - and I see how far I can go with it. — Clearbury
But only something that occupies some space can expand, as there needs to be the space it occupies and then expands into. — Clearbury
solipsist evolutionary theory posits one kind of a thing (a mind) and one disposition (the disposition to create a similar mental state to the one it is originally in) and gets everything out of that. I still do not see how an alternative that starts with something else is going to be able to explain as much with as little. — Clearbury
Unlike a balloon, the universe has no outside into which it can expand. It creates the space. — jkop
The issue does not seem to be what kind of a thing the mind is. It does not matter for simplicity's sake whether minds are material or immaterial. What make the thesis simple is that only one kind of a thing is posited - whatever kind of a thing a mind is - and only one instance of that kind of thing is posited. — Clearbury
Another problem with disembodied mind is that, it is devoid of all the sensory perceptions, which is the source of thoughts, feelings and sensations on the external world. — Corvus
Admittedly, my theory has changed slightly as it is now simpler than the original.
But the original evolutionary story involves random mental state generation and a mind disposed to remember sequences of mental states that seem closely to resemble one another. It experiences A. — Clearbury
All that quote from Russell does is reveal how illogical Mrs Christine Ladd-Franklin is. That is, it reveals that she's not very good at understanding the implications of a thesis - which is surprising in a logician. Russell is making fun of Ladd-Franklin, not making fun of solipsism. — Clearbury
On that view Ladd-Franklin is not being illogical at all. It is only in relation to the standard solipsism which says that only my mind exists and that all you others are mere projections of my mind that she is being illogical. — Janus
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