How do we know we’re not living in a simulation like The Matrix? Jack Freedom, BristolThe long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsPost your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published on Sunday. Continue reading…
One reason that a gardener may be unmoved by the plight of the slime mould is that, for all of its impressive navigational abilities, it is highly doubtful that it has phenomenal consciousness. This is the ability to ‘feel’ things,…
His appearance is on the amavasya (new moon) of the month of Vaisakha. Gadadhara was a few years younger then Nimai and during their childhood they would play together. Gadadhara Pandit served as Lord Gaura’s chief assistant during His Navadvipa-lila….
That is, their moral status should be ascertained before treating them like a normal animal. This will require agreeing on what confers moral status and finding ways to detect it. When in doubt, higher moral status should be accorded. Firstly,…
The requirement constitutes a kind of vaccine pass; without proof of vaccination, healthcare workers are prevented from continuing working in the NHS in a frontline role. Other types of COVID passes have been introduced elsewhere, such as the so-called “green…
On the day of fasting the devotee should be careful not to speak to those fallen from religious duties, dog-eaters, thieves, or hypocrites. He should also avoid speaking with slanderers and blasphemers of demigods, Vedic literatures, or brahmanas. They should…
Railton’s primary concern is not the ‘superintelligence’ that could vastly outperform humans and, as some have suggested, threaten human existence as a whole. Rather, Railton focuses on what we are already confronted with today, namely partially intelligent systems that increasingly…
