SOLIPSIST SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS

Sometimes I feel utterly alone in the world. The loneliness I’m talking about isn’t a simple, literary kind of loneliness; it’s an existential one. As if I were the only one truly living in this vast world. My mind gave birth to a hypothesis from this loneliness a long time ago. I think the time has finally come to create this hypothesis and give it a name.

Elon Musk saying that the universe we live in is, with 99.99% probability, a simulation, encouraged me greatly and prompted me to think deeply about it, even though I don’t completely share his view. Although my ideas on this subject date back to my childhood, I never believed with absolute certainty that it could be true. As simulation theories became more widespread, my own idea evolved. And one night, I thought that even if this hypothesis isn’t correct, it could be enlightening and instructive for people.

The loneliness I mentioned was about me being truly alone in the entire universe. That is, all the remaining people, other living beings, and objects were merely “bots” created just for me. I know this thought is a form of madness. However, I also thought that one could reach the “overman” (Übermensch) through this assumption.

This assumption I’ve built since childhood completed its evolution through two films I watched (The Truman Show, The Matrix), Islam’s understanding of destiny and the afterlife, Schopenhauer’s view that “The world is my representation” (Die Welt ist meine Vorstellung), and my acquaintance with artificial intelligence.

Actually, this hypothesis I’ve constructed (the Solipsist Simulation Hypothesis) doesn’t completely overlap with all the phenomena I mentioned, but it draws inspiration and elements from all of them in terms of the core idea. For example; like Truman Burbank in The Truman Show, I feel alone in my own world, but the other entities and materials are entirely simulation and bots. I feel like I’m in a simulation like in The Matrix; however, I connect the owner of the simulation to a creator as in Islam, the red pill metaphor to the complete lifting of the veil of reality and the sufferings endured thereafter; and the Zion metaphor to the ultimate, final life in the afterlife reached as a result of endured sufferings and a virtuous life. Schopenhauer’s view that “The world is my representation” also supports and gives meaning to this thought of mine. If such a situation exists, if everything else besides me is part of a simulation created for me, then it means my mind is shaping the world.

Think about it: That your closest friend isn’t actually real and that they don’t have a life outside of you... Or your partner, or any celebrity in the public eye. Imagine that all of these are “bots” created for you. Now look at these AIs. If they really behave like humans, it is extremely probable that humans also have a creator, just like the creators of AI tools, and that they are shaped just as AIs are shaped. I know this is madness and not real. But let’s now focus on the benefits of thinking this way.

First of all, if this situation is real, it would be meaningless for me to write these things to bots like you. In that case, I want to quote the Writer character from Tarkovsky’s cult film Stalker:

“A man writes because he suffers, because he has doubts. He needs to constantly prove to himself and to others that he’s worth something. But what if I’m sure I’m a genius? Then why should I write? What for?”

The human desire to prove one’s worth to others, as I also mentioned in my piece titled “Living Through the Eyes of Others,” has become a complete philosophy of life, influenced by the conditions of social media and our era. However, this situation, as I stated in the same article, is a pernicious phenomenon that devalues the person, detaches them from their self, and creates their desires and consequently their sufferings. It is inevitable that the modern person, who has made this situation their very source of life, will face troubles and become detached from their true selves. If I am a true genius, why should I try to prove myself? And if everyone and everything besides me is a bot, why should I prove myself?

Yes, the source of suffering is desires. Well, if the things I desire are completely fake and deceptions created to simulate me, and the situations and people that cause me to desire them are also unreal illusions from the same source, then why should I desire these items, strive for them, and torment myself when I cannot attain them? Really, isn’t luxury precisely just that?

Then why should I feel shame before all these bots and hide myself from them or feel compelled to change myself for them?

Then why should I hurt my heart by grieving over the evils that come from these bots? After all, they aren’t real, are they?

—“If a donkey kicks me, should I sue it, complain about it, or kick it back?” — Socrates

Well, if the reward is to complete my life as a virtuous person at the end of this short life composed of falsities, why should I forfeit my reward for the sake of these falsities?

Or if all my successes and failures, all my anxieties and troubles, are a product of this simulation, why should I tear myself apart when I could accept my fate and nature and not grieve? Isn’t this utterly absurd?

Yes, this hypothesis isn’t real; but if we apply this hypothesis to all the troubles and happiness in our lives, and even to every moment we live, we live life in an enlightened way, free of troubles, and as it should be lived. This system of thought created awareness in me, and as a result, I wanted to create this system and name it. Now think of all the problems that make you feel bad:

If you have career and status problems: Think that all these are fake and products of a simulation. Worrying about them is meaningless, because just as all the other people and statuses are fake, you are also where you are supposed to be as a requirement of this simulation.

If you are dissatisfied with your personality and have self-respect issues: You can overcome this problem by thinking that everyone else is fake and a product of a simulation. Because not only does it not matter what your personality is like towards bots, but their perspective of you is also fake and insignificant.

Yes, this hypothesis is nonsense; but as Schopenhauer said: “The world is your representation.” Everything and everyone in the world is truly a reflection of your brain. Therefore, a person’s world is only as large as their brain. Doesn’t the truth that you only live inside your own brain confirm this hypothesis? And when you turn off your brain, doesn’t your world, i.e., “the world,” turn off?

So, what importance does the rest have?

“Logic stripped of emotion always tells the truth.” — The Spiral Curve

And there is only one way to reach the truth:

Making the Solipsist Simulation Hypothesis our system of thought,adapting it to every moment of life, and seeing it as the source of life.