Free will & the Conservation Laws

[robvalue]

Alex:

To me, the fundamentals of solipsism is that I am the only thing I can be certain is "real". I may not be what I think I am, but I know I'm conscious. What I don't know is whether what I appear to experience represents something "real" or just some data being plugged into me somehow.

I assume the former, for pragmatic purposes. So now, everything I "see" is real; at least it's a representation of something real.

This is as far as solipsism goes, unless I'm not using the definition correctly.

The one thing I can't ever possibly test, under any circumstances, is whether or not another entity is having an "experience" like I am. Things appearing to have experiences, even if they are "real things" would look exactly like the same entity that really is having an experience. I can't tell the difference. Even though the "people" around me are real, I can't ever demonstrate they are like me. Not to my own satisfaction. Not even one of them, ever. I can only argue by analogy. The fact that I am experiencing something may be a one-off.

So I make the further assumption that other humans (and animals) do have experiences, if they act roughly like me, and appear to be having them. I'm quite happy making that assumption, of course. I can just never have any data on it, even if I assume solipsism is false. I can't discount the philosophical zombies, as you put it, any more than I can discount solipsism; and I don't see them as the same. They can be real zombies.

The problem, in both steps, is the lack of peers. I have no independent observers with which to consult. I can only make them independent by assuming my conclusions.