Thank you.

Pragmatism is my solution.

I agree.

It is possible that Hinduism is true. No, I am not a Hindu but there are Hindus on Earth. It is impossible to test the hypothesis that living things are souls who reincarnate according to karma in an illusory universe called Maya.

I am an agnostic atheist pragmatist. When I am driving, I don't go around thinking that hitting pedestrians won't matter because the pedestrians are not actually real. They are real enough to have consequences for them and for me.

We don't know and probably can't know whether living things are real souls without real bodies, real souls in real bodies or real bodies without real souls.

We also don't know and probably can't know whether the universe is actually real or is a simulation or hallucination or dream or illusion. The most likely scenario is that we will all die without knowing the true nature of selves and universes.

I cry about the fact that there is so much suffering, inequality, injustice, and death in the world. If I could, I would make all living things forever happy - including the dead ones and the never-born ones. I wish I could make all living things all-loving, all-knowing and all-powerful then there would be no suffering, inequality, injustice and death.

Dear living things,
My aim in life is to save and improve all lives. I am requesting all living things to share my goal. One for all and all for one. Together, we can do much more than we can alone.
With unconditional love,
Someone who loves you.

I disagree. Evolution is not sentient. It does not choose anything consciously. It is a process that occurs in the real world - whatever its true nature.

I agree.

Thank you for the formula but how does that apply to my problems?

Here are my two problems:

1. What is my true nature? Am I a soul without a body or a soul in a body or a body without a soul?

2. Is the universe real or a simulation or my hallucination or my dream or an illusion?

Are all of the above possibilities equally likely? I don't currently know but does that mean I won't ever know?

I disagree. If you behead someone, they die. This is not a belief. This is a fact - an item of knowledge.

Yes, there are lots of things we can know for sure. For example, we know that the website address for this website is https://thephilosophyforum.com and we know that the language this message is written in is English. There are trillions of such examples.

I disagree.

I disagree. I am experiencing what it is like to be me. This is not a belief. This is a knowledge.

I agree.

It's possible that I am a soul and my body is either a simulation or hallucination or dream or illusion. According to Hinduism we are souls who reincarnate according to karma in an illusion called the Maya.

I don't know whether souls exist or not. I am an agnostic atheist.

This is a paradox!

As I said, in all three possibilities, I am real. My sentience is known to me. My sentience is real to me. My sentience is not in question.

I don't know and can't know which of the three possibilities is true: 1. I am a soul without a body. 2. I am a soul in a body. 3. I am a body without a soul.

Just as I don't know and can't know which of the five possibilities about the universe is true: 1. The universe is real. 2. The universe is a simulation. 3. The universe is a hallucination I am having. 4. The universe is a dream I am having. 5. The universe is an illusion.

I don't think that all of the possibilities are equally likely. I can't work out how probable each of them actually are. Statistics can't be applied in these cases because we can't test the possibilities.

It does not mean that at all. I can imagine an alien in my room but it is not real. The computer I am typing this message on is real.

Can you show me the calculation, please?

Whatever exists is whatever is not imaginary. I experience my sentience. This is how I know it exists.

That has not changed. What is 100% certainly real to me is the experience of me being conscious. I could be a solipsistic soul without a body. I could be a soul in a body. I could be a body without a soul. In all three possibilities, I am real. By "I", I mean my sentience - the actual experience of what it is like to be me - nanosecond by nanosecond. Not all truths can be proven but that does not make them any less true. For example, I can’t prove to you that I am conscious but that does not mean that I am not conscious. You may think that I am a philosophical zombie but I assure you that I am conscious even though I can't prove it to you. Just as you are conscious even though you can't prove it to me.

By "I am" I mean that my experience of being a sentient being is real for me. It is because of this experience that I am convinced that I exist. I don't know whether I am a solipsistic soul without a body or a soul in a body or a body without a soul. I don't know if the universe I appear to exist in is real or simulation or hallucination or dream or illusion. What are you certain of?

I am not convinced these Enneagram types are anything more than unprovable ideas.

Thank you for explaining. What is the basis for your beliefs?

I experience the experience of what it is like to be me. This is not a belief. This is an incontrovertible knowledge for me.

I still have no way of knowing whether I am a solipsistic soul without a body or a soul in a body or a body without a soul.

I agree. :grin:

Real is whatever exists. For example, my sentience is real because it exists.

My confidence about my sentience is 100% certainty. I don't know whether God exists or not.

As for as I know, the universe I appear to exist in, began with a tiny silent beginning. This tiny silent beginning is known popularly as the Big Bang but that name is a misnomer given the fact that the beginning was neither big, nor noisy. It's possible that by body, the universe, etc. are not real. It's possible these things are part of a simulation or hallucination or dream or illusion. I don't know for sure and can't know for sure.

What are you certain of?

"You are merely wrong. ... It is indeed a hallucination, but, that situation was not inflicted upon you. It was chosen by you, incorrectly." How do you know that I am merely wrong? How do you know that it is a hallucination? How do you know that it was chosen by me? How do you know that it is incorrect?

I think that the statement "I think, therefore I am." is incorrect. The correct statement is "I am, therefore I am."

Truth is whatever is real. From my point of view, my sentience is real. Certainty is the confidence I have about my knowledge about what is real. For example, I am completely certain that I am sentient. I am not completely certain about whether I am a solipsistic soul without a body or a soul in a body or a body without a soul. In all three possibilities, I am real. By "I", I mean my sentience - the actual experience of what it is like to be me - nanosecond by nanosecond. Not all truths can be proven but that does not make them any less true. For example, I can’t prove to you that I am conscious but that does not mean that I am not conscious. You may think that I am a philosophical zombie but I assure you that I am conscious even though I can't prove it to you. Just as you are conscious even though you can't prove it to me. If you don't know what a philosophical zombie is, then please see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_zombie

I disagree for reasons already explained. I don't require anyone to agree with me about anything.

I disagree. My body could be part of a simulation, hallucination, dream or illusion. What is 100% certainly real is the experience of being conscious. I could be a solipsistic soul without a body. I could be a soul in a body. I could be a body without a soul. In all three possibilities, I am real. By "I", I mean my sentience - the actual experience of what it is like to be me - nanosecond by nanosecond. Not all truths can be proven but that does not make them any less true. For example, I can’t prove to you that I am conscious but that does not mean that I am not conscious. You may think that I am a philosophical zombie but I assure you that I am conscious even though I can't prove it to you. Just as you are conscious even though you can't prove it to me.

I agree.

I agree.

The body could be part of a simulation, hallucination, dream or illusion. What is 100% certainly real is the experience of being conscious. I could be a solipsistic soul without a body. I could be a soul in a body. I could be a body without a soul. In all three possibilities, I am real. By "I", I mean my sentience - the actual experience of what it is like to be me - nanosecond by nanosecond. Not all truths can be proven but that does not make them any less true. For example, I can’t prove to you that I am conscious but that does not mean that I am not conscious. You may think that I am a philosophical zombie but I assure you that I am conscious even though I can't prove it to you. Just as you are conscious even though you can't prove it to me.

If you want to learn more about breathing, please see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4880533

I agree with you.

Thank you for your reply. It's possible you are right. I don't know and I can't know. Why would I limit myself and put myself through all the suffering? Surely an all-knowing and all-powerful being won't be masochistic? I hate being alive. I wish I never existed. I can't even end my life as that would harm my family.

Thank you for your reply. I think we are all blundering through existence. Many people convince themselves that their religion is the true one but that doesn't make it true. Life is a roller coaster to death. We are put on it when we are conceived without our consent and we can't get off it until we are dead. Good luck with the rest of your existence.

Thank you for your reply. Are you not even certain about being a conscious entity? Isn't being a conscious entity an undeniable and self-evident fact? Of course, you can't prove to others that you are conscious. Just as I can't prove to others that I am conscious. From your point of view, you can't tell whether I am a conscious entity or a philosophical zombie. Just as from my point of view, I can't tell whether you are a conscious entity or a philosophical zombie. Are you not even certain about typing in English? Surely, you can be certain that you are not typing in Japanese or another language?

I am trying to know myself, others and the world. If I were all-knowing, I could know everything with complete certainty. The above framework is the best I have been able to do so far. If you or anyone else can improve it, I would be most grateful.

Reviewing my position six months later ...
I am completely certain of the following:
1. I am conscious.
2. I am typing in English.
3. I am not all-knowing.
4. I am not all-powerful.
5. I change.
6. I know concepts e.g. what a square or circle or triangle is.
7. I know apparent facts about reality e.g. the Earth orbits the Sun, the Moon orbits the Earth.
8. I know how to walk, run, eat, drink, cook, shop, work, read, write, type, go to the toilet, cycle, swim, etc.
9. I can't do lots of things I really want to do e.g. go back in time and prevent all suffering, inequality, injustice, and deaths and make all living things forever happy.
10. I do some things even though I don't want to do them. Here are some things I have done, currently do or will do even though I don't want to do them:

1. Breathe
2. Eat
3. Drink
4. Sleep
5. Dream
7. Pee
8. Poo
9. Fart
10. Burp
11. Sneeze
12. Cough
13. Age
14. Get ill
15. Get injured
16. Sweat
17. Cry
18. Suffer
19. Snore
20. Think
21. Feel
22. Choose
23. Be conceived
24. Be born
25. Remember some events that I don't want to remember
26. Forget information that I want to remember
27. Die

I am almost certain of the following:

1. I and all the other organisms currently alive will die. Every second brings all organisms closer to death.
2. My body, other organisms, the Earth and the Universe really exist and they are not part of a simulation or hallucination or dream or illusion.
3. Other organisms e.g. humans, cows, dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, lions, elephants, butterflies, whales, dolphins, etc. are sentient beings who feel pain.
4. Being a non-consumer is more ethical than being an autotroph, being an autotroph is more ethical than being a vegan/herbivore, being a vegan is more ethical than being a vegetarian, and being a vegetarian is more ethical than being an omnivore or carnivore.
5. Gods do not exist.
6. Souls do not exist.
7. Reincarnation does not happen.
8. Resurrection does not happen.
10. Organisms evolved and were not created by God or Gods.
11. 99.9% of all the species to evolve so far on Earth became extinct in 5 mass extinctions long before humans evolved.
12. Humans and other organisms make choices but they are not free from determinants and constraints. Our choices are determined and constrained by our genes, environments, nutrients, and experiences. The reason I have put this one in the almost certain category is that it is possible that bodies, genes, cells, stars, planets, moons, galaxies, universes may not actually exist. These things could be part of a simulation or dream or hallucination or illusion. It is impossible to know with complete certainty. I could be a solipsistic soul experiencing the illusion of being in a human body on a planet in a universe or I could be a body without any soul - I don't know these things for sure, hence I am an agnostic. There are many hypotheses that can't be tested e.g. simulation hypothesis, illusion hypothesis, dream hypothesis, hallucination hypothesis, solipsism hypothesis, philosophical zombie hypothesis, panpsychism hypothesis, deism hypothesis, theism hypothesis, pantheism hypothesis, panentheism hypothesis, etc. Just because a hypothesis can't be tested it does not mean it is true or false. It just means that it is currently untestable.

I agree that our ignorance is infinite and our knowledge is very finite but it is growing.

The Big Bang and other galaxies are as real as the Earth. The existence of aliens is currently unknown. Please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

Designing smart phones is very different from knowing how life originated. You are not comparing similar things.

We are diverging from the topic of this thread so I will limit what I say.