Earlier quoted context omitted.
Consciousness is an abstract, non-physical structure and concept, but everything we know suggests it is inextricably tied to and an emergent phenomenon of the brain. In the distant future there may be a way to extract and transfer consciousness into a new substrate, but with current technology, there's no reason to believe any sort of life, consciousness, sentience, awareness, etc. after death is possible at all. Jus…
> everything we know suggests it is inextricably tied to and an emergent phenomenon of the brain I don’t think that’s universally accepted. I think trees are conscious and they have no brain. I think the brain does create an illusion that other things are not conscious. It tricks us into thinking our own consciousnesses are distinct from the rest of consciousness. And that’s been a useful adaptation for us. And it co…
I don't think consciousness of trees is accepted by nearly anyone. But even if any trees were conscious, I don't see how it helps your argument at all.
>I think the brain does create an illusion that other things are not conscious. It tricks us into thinking our own consciousnesses are distinct from the rest of consciousness.
Yes, but consciousness of animals doesn't really mean anything here. If anything, it's a point in favor of the opposite side: that consciousness really isn't very special.
>It’s possible such a thing already exists. We have ancient stories about it. If it were true it would be very difficult to detect.
Many things are possible. We have ancient stories about many of them. If they were true they would be very difficult to detect. That's why the basic scientific principle is falsifiability.
>If the universe is a simulation then it seems extremely unlikely that consciousnesses would never be read, just operating until they get eaten by the 2nd law.
I don't agree. If the universe is a simulation then they could be read, but they don't have to be, and I don't think it's extremely unlikely that they wouldn't be. If it's a very "raw" or "real" simulation with no interference, they could very well just dissipate into nothing.
Assuming it is a simulation, what happens when you get shot in the head and lose brain function? Where is your consciousness at that moment? Is there a pre-damage backup somewhere? When was the backup taken? If backups are taken every instant or otherwise very infrequently, which one is the "real" state after you die? The one from right before the damage occurred? Something picked at random? If there is no backup needed because there is instead just some outside extra-dimensional consciousness "force" or "energy" existing since long ago, what is that thing doing exactly when you suffer from a brain injury? Does it just "stop working" in or "lose connection" to those parts of the brain? What is it doing when we're children?
I think even if we're in a simulation where nearly all living things are conscious, the chances of some kind of post-death experience is still basically zero.