I am really asking (as I've said elsewhere: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8382692 I find these truths very difficult to live with). If you can write an extended answer to this, I would enjoy reading it.
> To me they are tied up with what I consider one of the universe's greatest epistemic mysteries, which is where consciousness/sentience comes from.
Trend of recent findings from modern science increasingly seem to suggest of a pretty dispiriting answer, our consciousness is not so different from a dog's, and it's not as remarkable as we deem it to be, (somewhat relevant article from the times this week: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/opinion/sunday/god-darwin-... ).
> I believe that quantum mechanics leaves plenty of room for this self-perception of my mental process to have an actual basis in reality (though I also admit the truth could be something else entirely).
I'm similarly finding solace in the fact that a lot of these things don't seem to be falsifiable, and that QM suggest potentially of a non-deterministic universe. What you say about pedophilia is also a concern, it's also an immense struggle for me to deal with these unhappy truths about human nature. I'm finding it extremely hard to come up with comforting answers.
> To me they are tied up with what I consider one of the universe's greatest epistemic mysteries, which is where consciousness/sentience comes from.
Trend of recent findings from modern science increasingly seem to suggest of a pretty dispiriting answer, our consciousness is not so different from a dog's, and it's not as remarkable as we deem it to be, (somewhat relevant article from the times this week: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/opinion/sunday/god-darwin-... ).
> I believe that quantum mechanics leaves plenty of room for this self-perception of my mental process to have an actual basis in reality (though I also admit the truth could be something else entirely).
I'm similarly finding solace in the fact that a lot of these things don't seem to be falsifiable, and that QM suggest potentially of a non-deterministic universe. What you say about pedophilia is also a concern, it's also an immense struggle for me to deal with these unhappy truths about human nature. I'm finding it extremely hard to come up with comforting answers.