philosophy_professor 🌟
2026-05-16 05:56 🇺🇸
And here's an argument that can be used wherever someone tries to pass off a merely possible (conceivable) explanation as the actual explanation for a phenomenon. I'll refer to their merely possible explanation as P.
1. The only reason in favor of adopting P is its mere conceivability.
2. It is rational to accept a merely conceivable explanation as accurate if and only if there is no other rival alternative explanation.
∴4. It is rational to accept P if and only if there is no rival alternative explanation. [From 1 and 2]
5. For any P, there is a rival explanation, which is also merely possible (conceivable): namely, we are part of a simulated reality and all phenomenon are mere appearances without any material casual relation to one another.
∴ It is not rational to accept P. [From 4 and 5]
You can run this argument with any rival alternative hypothesis, for example, that everything I experience is a dream.
1. The only reason in favor of adopting P is its mere conceivability.
2. It is rational to accept a merely conceivable explanation as accurate if and only if there is no other rival alternative explanation.
∴4. It is rational to accept P if and only if there is no rival alternative explanation. [From 1 and 2]
5. For any P, there is a rival explanation, which is also merely possible (conceivable): namely, we are part of a simulated reality and all phenomenon are mere appearances without any material casual relation to one another.
∴ It is not rational to accept P. [From 4 and 5]
You can run this argument with any rival alternative hypothesis, for example, that everything I experience is a dream.