Trinh Le

Too-Many-Thinkers and Psychological Continuity

Started Oct. 27, 2025

Abstract or project description

This paper will examine whether or not the psychological continuity view can be made to avoid the Too-Many-Thinkers objection. The psychological continuity view says personal identity is determined by continuity of memory. The Too-Many-Thinkers Objection charges psychological continuity views with separating the person from the biological organism it is constituted by. Accordingly, such theories must implausibly countenance multiple thinkers in the same physical location. This paper will explore in detail this objection, and also address the implications of what it means for the view if the objection cannot be avoided. By analyzing arguments and drawing on thought experiments, this paper offers an assessment of the threat of the Too-Many-Thinkers objection to the psychological continuity view. By exploring this question, our knowledge of what it truly means to be oneself will be enhanced.

How are Donald Hoffman’s Interface Theory, Heisenberg Cut, David Bohm’s Implicate Order, and Vacuum Genesis similar to Buddhist Philosophies?

Started Mar. 21, 2025

Abstract or project description

The goal of this paper is to analyze the similarities between quantum physics and Buddhist philosophy, focusing on ideas that challenge standard views of reality. For example, both Yogācāra Buddhism and Donald Hoffman’s Interface Theory propose that the world we perceive is not objective reality but rather a constructed interface. Similarly, the Buddhist concept of Vikalpa—the mental act of dividing seamless experiences—resembles Heisenberg’s Cut, a theoretical boundary separating the realms of quantum and classical physics. David Bohm’s Implicate Order suggests an underlying interconnected reality, echoing the Buddhist notion of pratītyasamutpāda (interdependence). However, while vacuum genesis describes the universe’s emergence from quantum fluctuations ex nihilo, Buddhism’s concept of samsara presents a cyclical view of the universe. These parallels suggest that reality is not fixed and permanent, instead, it is shaped by consciousness and perception.