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Persona #115

David J. Chalmers

1966–present
Australian-American philosopher of mind, professor at NYU and ANU

The hard problem of consciousness — and virtual reality is genuine reality

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where personas disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid (32 attributes) is shown.

Attribute David J. Chalmers
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Curved
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Emergent
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Immediate
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Both
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method N/A
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Non-conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each persona's writings reveal about their stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

David J. Chalmers

Conventional modern. Virtual time and physical time are both real on the virtual-realist view.

Space

David J. Chalmers

Substantival; virtual space is real space.

Matter

David J. Chalmers

Emergent at the substrate level — what we call matter could be data structures, but genuinely real.

Observer

David J. Chalmers

A single embodied (or virtually embodied) subject. Both physicality. Metaphysical agency: None.

Energy

David J. Chalmers

Conventional modern.

Information

David J. Chalmers

Substantival and discrete.

Internal Tensions

Where each persona's working synthesis strains against itself.

David J. Chalmers

Chalmers's twin commitments — that consciousness is a deep philosophical problem irreducible to physical processes, and that virtual entities are as real as physical ones — are sometimes read as in tension.