Solipsism's Intractable Conceptual Barrier

The intractable conceptual barrier for solipsism is that there is no way for it to attribute a robust sense of one's self or one's mind relying entirely on conceptual distinctions and classifications that arise only from one's self and one's mind. It must rely on the externality of a linguistic practice to do that.

This video is a response to Pyrrho314"s video "Solipsism":
http://youtu.be/Io44qMyLG7I

Category:

Education

Tags:

• solipsism
• philosophy
• mind
• agency
• subjectivity
• Ludwig
• Wittgenstein
• self

[brokennarcissist]

But once you inherit a language it frees up a solipsism, language isn't communal, it's alienating, it creates distance in making distinction. We linguistically construction and deconstruct our own universe(s) which we can only invite others to participate.

[TrenchantAtheist]

@pyrrho314 You may very well be right - it's worth nothing that over-complication often occurs during miscommunication and these terms are poorly defined. Some people equate "being aware" with "being conscious" while others do not... and neurologists acknowledge that there is so much room for disagreement in both terms that many are unwilling to provide any definitions before seeking to explain them as phenomena. I think we all agree though that many organisms behave as though they're aware.

[TrenchantAtheist]

@DanaGarrett I just removed ".pdf" and replaced it with a "_dot_pdf" to make sure the google link blocks wouldn't prevent the comment post.

But you can search 'neuroconstructivism' and follow the psyc.bbk link

[DanaGarrett]

@pyrrho314 I would say that being "aware of" is an unnecessary interpolation of a mental skill if the behavior of being "aware of" means possessing a "subjective perspective." I would say that being "aware of" need only mean "being capable to react to..." to be perfectly explanatory of the phenomenon.

[DanaGarrett]

@TrenchantAtheist I'm unable to get the link to work. Do you have some search terms I can use to get to this site?

[pyrrho314]

@trench : not to simplify the particular and as of yet unknown mechanisms, but I think we over-complicate it. We already know groups of cells which are distributed in a network can generate what appears to be a subjective experience, It is an illusion a groups of cells can generate. The locust acts aware of food and water and potential partners, so that to me is clear evidence of this subjective perspective.

[TrenchantAtheist]

Please pardon the typo: "page 80 being of particular importance..."

[TrenchantAtheist]

@pyrrho314 Yeah, I got that sense after looking back at your original comments and arguments. I agree, though, that these concepts are difficult to grapple with when we're talking about lower-order functioning that is incommunicable via linguistic terms (i.e. how do we account for the "awareness" of a locust, given that its neurological algorithms seem to bypass even its own primitive brain?). But I also think the gap is easily bridged when we extrapolate from what is currently known.

[TrenchantAtheist]

@DanaGarrett Sure thing. Here is a link, page 80 of being of particular importance as a diagram of what I was referring to, in terms of feedback:

psyc.bbk.ac.uk/research/DNL/pe­rsonalpages/Westermann_DS dot pdf

[pyrrho314]

@DanaGarrett : ok, I do not quarel with that... I think subject is what it takes to be recognize consciousness, which may itself require, one supposes, self-consciousness. That may require language but I doubt it, unless the notion of language is expanded radically to encompass more types of communication.