In philosophy, there is a common thought experiment about our perception of reality, called the "brain in a vat" scenario. In this scenario, we are nothing but brains receiving electrical signals from the outside world, causing our brains to tell us that we are having experiences (but the actual experiences don't exist--the only thing that exists is the electrical stimulation of neurons).
With regards to human anatomy, this is actually describes the situation we are in perfectly. We 'feel' like we exist in our arms and legs, but we really don't--we exist only in our brain. When you feel something with your finger, your finger isn't conscious of anything--it's just part of the complex "vat" of bones, blood, muscle, and organs that supports the brain. There really isn't anything different about this scenario than a super-computer sending signals to each of your neurons in a coordinated effort. There is no way for us to tell the difference between the two scenarios!
It is important to keep this in mind, rather than ignoring it and simply assuming that the physical world exists, as most people are want to do. The implications are important for future arguments, which I will write on soon.
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| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_in_a_vat#/media/File:Braininvat.jpg |
It is important to keep this in mind, rather than ignoring it and simply assuming that the physical world exists, as most people are want to do. The implications are important for future arguments, which I will write on soon.
