[smokedetector1]

It’s likely that the cognitive functioning of the brain has a lot to do with prediction. But to reduce the conscious experience to that is incredibly sad, wrong and insulting, no matter how many people sign on to deny their own existence.

Me pitying you is both genuine and an insult, because you are insulting me and every other person with your dehumanizing theory, even if you don’t see it that way. People like you should be pitied so that their dehumanizing beliefs can be appropriately contextualized and discounted.

Ill leave it at that.

[DangitBobby]

It's really incredibly interesting to think about, and I don't find it sad at all. I find the idea that our consciousness arises entirely from physically explicable mechanisms both probably true and fascinating, and does nothing to remove the wonder and magic. I can also assure you that the estimation of the richness of my experience (and yours) doesn't suffer for it. What does suffer for it is my estimation of my own importance in the grand scheme of things. Anthropocentrism completely collapses in my worldview, as do models of justice that prioritize assigning blame or punishment over outcomes. I think it brings me to a more reliable model of the world which helps me make better choices, and the world would be better for it if more people adopted it.

[smokedetector1]

If it works for you, and you can care about other people and yourself, then thats all that matters. I kind of dont believe that you truly reduce yourself as much as you claim you do