From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Sat Dec 07 2002 - 10:06:24 MST
gts, still having trouble imagining that the universe
might never have existed anywhere, writes
> >> You can conceive of the universe existing without
> >> you, but you cannot conceive of the universe not existing.
> >
> > Oh yeah? Watch this. There. I did it again.
>
> That's a neat trick, Lee. However you are fooling
> yourself.
>
> If I were to ask to describe the content of your
> imagination when you are imagining that the universe
> does not exist, your only correct reply would be that
> there is no content to your imagination under that
> circumstance. This is so because to imagine anything
> is to imagine it in a universe that exists. This is
> true even of ideas and of empty space.
>
> Thus the content of your imagination while attempting
> to imagine the universe not existing is no different
> than had you not made the attempt.
Well, that's pretty close! You are getting warm, but
just as in computer science, there is a difference
between the null pointer and no pointer at all.
This might help: when I'm having any trouble conceiving
of a non-existing universe, I always imagine how it would
be for my uncle Fernando (blind and deaf since birth) to
be imagining the universe, or to think about what his
concept of an empty universe would be like.
Finally, when I've got that firmly in mind, I recall
that I don't really have an uncle Fernando, and at that
moment I perceive what a completely non-existent universe
would be like.
Really, though, this is very close to your concept of
a universe that did not exist, except that I'm admitting
it.
Of course, you can always use Hal's great approach of
slowly removing all the properties of our universe one
by one, and then in a final spasm of clarity, removing
the last so-called property, namely, "existence", even
if technically it Kant be done.
Lee
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