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> if a mutant human arose without consciousness, presumably it would have an advantage over other humans The book actually does address this. ROT13 to avoid sp
by redacted 11y ago
> if a mutant human arose without consciousness, presumably it would have an advantage over other humans
The book actually does address this. ROT13 to avoid spoilers:
Vg vf fgebatyl fhttrfgrq gung gur inzcverf bs gur abiry ynpx pbafpvbhfarff, juvpu tnir gurz n fvtavsvpnag nqinagntr bire 'onfryvar' uhznaf gung gurl uhagrq.
- KingMob 11y agoIt's been a few years since I read it, so I didn't recall that. Is it stated or just implied? Still, I remain unconvinced of the author's depictions of a lack of consciousness. The problem is the "philosophical zombie". It looks and acts, to all accounts, like a normal human, but has no internal experience. Since I can't even prove anybody else has experience (despite acting a lot like me), what's the basis for different behavior just because an organism lacks consciousness? I found it intriguing but unlikely, based on evolutionary fitness.
- mirimir 11y agoYour selection arguments make sense to me. We are conscious, so consciousness must increase fitness. Maybe impulse control is a key aspect of it. And thinking of Hofstadter, maybe it's just the top of the self-referential stack.
- KingMob 11y agoImpulse control could be part of it, but it's not clear that that requires consciousness, either :) We know that perceptual awareness has some connection to biology (sleep, seizures, drugs, etc), so to the extent that consciousness requires energy, it has to justify its caloric expenditure.
- mirimir 11y agoLrf. Ubjrire, ng gur fgneg bs Rpubcenkvn, V trg gung inzcverf fvzhygnarbhfyl eha frireny ernyvgvrf. Ohg vg'f abg lrg pyrne gb zr jurgure gurl'er nygreangr fpranevbf, whfg sbe nzhfrzrag, be jungrire.