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The problem with solving the mystery of consciousness is that we don't even really have a definition of it that makes sense. Until then, the answer will inevita
by foxyv 5y ago
The problem with solving the mystery of consciousness is that we don't even really have a definition of it that makes sense. Until then, the answer will inevitably be 42.
- perceptronas 5y agoBible definition is quite interesting. AFAIU it defines consciousness as an ability to discern between good and evil
- Jensson 5y agoSo humans aren't conscious?
- hdjjhhvvhga 5y agoI think you confuse consciousness with conscience. Apart from that, the Bible contains almost no definitions (and this has caused many problems in the past, even people killing each other as they disagreed on what certain things mean). If one wants precise definitions, they can be found in literature such as Abhidharmakosha.
- goatlover 5y agoQualia.
- Trasmatta 5y agoYep, but then the problem becomes defining what qualia actually is, and why it exists.
- davidivadavid 5y agoHow are qualia necessary/sufficient for consciousness? Seems more related to the subjectivity of perception, which in itself doesn't require consciousness (or does it?)?
- goatlover 5y agoQualia is the term for the sensations of color, sound, etc. And not just perception, but dreams, hallucinations, etc. That's what makes up consciousness/subjectivity. Not everyone agrees with using the term qualia for sensation. There's various debates over the nature of perception. Some see sensation as just being directly aware of properties in the world, such as color. Doesn't work for all sensation (pain for example), and color realism has its own problems.
- golemotron 5y agoConsciousness is a social construct. That's the problem.
- Trasmatta 5y agoAre you contending that somebody who grows up in complete social isolation would not be conscious? If so, that doesn't make sense. And besides, we currently have no way of knowing that consciousness actually exists in any being other than ourselves, so there would be no way to measure it to test your hypothesis. Until we have some way of doing that, I think it's more rational to assume all humans in a non catatonic state have some level of consciousness.
- dominotw 5y ago> Are you contending that somebody who grows up in complete social isolation would not be conscious? I read GP's comment that in this case that someone wouldn't have a concept of consciousness in his consciousness.
- gshubert17 5y agoCould a person who grows up in complete social isolation learn (or invent) a language? If not, could such a person name things or have a way to think about maps and symbols (representations of things) in a way that could lead to consciousness?
- Trasmatta 5y agoThere are a number of interesting cases of people being raised without language, and then being studied later in life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_deprivation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_deprivation I think it's a massive, massive stretch to make the claim that any of them weren't conscious.
- goatlover 5y agoMany animals are likely conscious. They feel pain and see colors, etc.
- ncallaway 5y agoI kind of suspect that rigorously defining consciousness may end up being a significant part of the problem of explaining consciousness.
- bena 5y agoBingo. To figure out how it works, we need to know what it is.