Posting this because I think it’s an interesting examination of the overlap (or lack thereof) between atheists and general skeptics. It’s worth remembering that the term ‘atheism’ only means a rejection of theistic beliefs; non-theistic beliefs that are nonetheless irrational and unsupported by evidence are not relevant to the term. And yet one can easily see why there is an overlap between these two communities and why many atheists scoff at other atheists who profess belief in things like astrology, ghosts, reincarnation, etc.
I’m definitely one of those who doesn’t believe in anything supernatural, but I’ve certainly met atheists who do. It’s worth remembering the two groups aren’t synonymous.
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True, but the brain is way more sophisticated, and works more like an FPGA with self modifying code. The brain reprograms itself when it learns, and although that reprogramming is physical. the virtual reality constructed by the brain is not. Just like a simulation is independent on what hardware it is running on, you can simulate whatever disregarding whether it runs on one computational machine or another. The simulation is dependent on the hardware to run, but how it runs is not. Very basically you can simulate water without having any water in the machine.
The way your mind works is like a virtual machine, you have created a model in your brain of the reality you live in. In your brain you are able to manipulate that reality to predict outcomes, without doing anything to the actual reality. That’s basically exactly the same as a virtual reality, which is where my Computer game analogy comes from. Because computer games too are simple forms of virtual realities.
But further than that, you can also imagine things that are not real, and create new concepts that never existed before. That because the consciousness is not limited by reality.
Not exactly, but close enough, depends on how “mind” is defined. The mind is definitely tied to the brain, the consciousness is what we may consider the highest function of the mind. The mind constructs a virtual reality, and our self consciousness exist in that virtual reality, and nowhere else. The mind is actually the shim, or middle layer or connection between brain and consciousness. Consciousness is absolutely dependent on the brain to work, but it is not directly dependent on the brain in how it works. The exact same number of neurons in 2 different brains can work very similarly from a physical perspective. But the consciousnesses and minds can be night and day apart. Like the mind is the “programming” of the brain, and our consciousness is a result of that programming.
Sorry that my answer is so long. I’m trying to express the idea as clearly as I possibly can.