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You’re missing the point. Most people intuitively define consciousness to include not just self image, but the processing related to it—having wants and desires
by garmaine 8y ago
You’re missing the point. Most people intuitively define consciousness to include not just self image, but the processing related to it—having wants and desires, and the self-conscious reasoning about them. Having self image is only the first, small step.
- visarga 8y agoEven insects have something like wants and desires - let's call them values. They are necessary in order to assure their survival. Values are derived from reward signals, which are selected by evolution. Values guide actions, and actions protect life and reproduction.
- garmaine 8y agoTheir nervous systems are not self reflective about them, however, and they certainly don’t perform abstract meta-level reasoning about those wants and desires. Impulse-response is not consciousness, even if involves a simple reflective model of self image.
- visarga 8y agoI agree they are very different and much more limited, but at the same time I think you and I might have different definitions for consciousness. I define consciousness as that process which protects the body by adapting to external conditions, and endeavours to make offspring by adapting to the mating opportunities. It's a general definition based on things that are concrete and measurable, unlike many others. Consciousness is basically protecting the genes. It's how genes found a way to exist at large scale.