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Does consciousness produce any measurable effect? For a time I thought consciousness is some kind of by-product of some kinds of computation which doesn't influ
by daoxid 8y ago
Does consciousness produce any measurable effect? For a time I thought consciousness is some kind of by-product of some kinds of computation which doesn't influence the computation itself. But how can I then know that I am conscious? And if I know that I am conscious, then consciousness must have a measurable effect, right? Because the knowledge that you are conscious should be reflected somewhere in your brain.
However, whenever I think about consciousness, I have the feeling that I am missing something obvious but important. It's just so confusing.
- visarga 8y ago> Does consciousness produce any measurable effect? In the morning when you wake up do you make a sandwich? If you didn't have consciousness, you wouldn't. So your body would cease to exist in a short time. Consciousness has measurable effects - every time it saves us from hunger, danger, and other bad situations, or when it leads us to good situations.
- vokep 8y agoBut theoretically you could just as well be a philosophical zombie, getting up and making a sandwhich. Electrical lights on in the brain but no light of consciousness.
- MaxBarraclough 8y agoYou're describing intelligent decision-making and prudent action, not consciousness. We are conscious even when doing nothing, and computers show us that systems showing some sort of 'intelligence' needn't be conscious. (I'm being very imprecise about the meaning of 'intelligence' here, mind.)
- vanviegen 8y agoFollowing that logic, a robot vacuum that can have itself charged is conscious?
- visarga 8y agoIt's at least conscious of its energy.