Conflating macro with micro would a fallacy of equivocation. They must be qualified to their respective Framework and System [FS], e.g. macro [ Science-Newtonian FS] with micro [Science-QM FS or science-Chemistry FS].phyllo wrote: ↑Sun Dec 08, 2024 3:02 pmI don't know how that could possibly work in a macro situation. The moon can't just move or spread out when someone stops looking at it.Nor does Al-Khalili think that, that's why he said "in some strange sense" first. To many people that strange sense is best conceptualized as the Moon being in superposition when no one is looking. It's infinitely spread out everywhere and nowhere at once, like a probability wave. And when you are looking at it, it is in a certain location and state.
Philosophically and in relation to the philosophy of science, we consider:
1. Philosophical Realism, scientific realism - absolute mind-independence
2. Empirical Realism - relative mind-independence
A philosophical realist would claim that the external world is absolutely mind-independent; I have argued this is a fundamentalistic ideology driven by an evolutionary default, thus the majority of humans are likely to be philosophical realists if they are philosophical.
In this case, a philosophical realist will claim the moon [or anything within reality] exists regardless of whether there are humans or not.
Philosophical realism as a fundamentalistic ideology had led to theism and other mind-independent realism which facilitates basic survival but has its associated evil.
Empirical Realism is the philosophy that recognizes the moon does exists if there are no humans but it is only relative to the human conditions.
As such, if no humans = "realization that recognizes the moon does exists if there are no humans".
The "No Humans = No Absolutely Mind-Independent Moon" is only thrown at dogmatic fundamentalistic philosophical realists who insist on the absolute claim that the 'moon exists regardless of whether there are humans or not'. From here they insist a mind-independent God exists plus leading to all sort of other evils and the hindering of moral progress [re Moral relativism and moral skepticism & nihilism]