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Do you experience subjective existence or are you a non-conscious entity? If you are a set of pattern recognition layers responding to stimuli, then I would not
by dougmwne 4y ago
Do you experience subjective existence or are you a non-conscious entity? If you are a set of pattern recognition layers responding to stimuli, then I would not be so shocked you are unconcerned about the hard problem of consciousness.
- consumer451 4y agoI have basically fallen to the side of the Copernican principle on this. Consciousness feels like it may at least partially be our fancy word for “soul” in the 21st century. Measures of basic intelligence appear to us in crazy places in the animal kingdom. We will find it is not special at all. I believe we are nothing but of a bunch of chemical states, the patterns and flow of which could be replicated in another system, natural or artificial. On this planet, we just have the fastest, most complex and efficient processor going at this time. Edit: I should add there may be more to human intelligence than “just” patter recognition, but that seems to do the bulk of the work.
- 2000UltraDeluxe 4y ago> On this planet, we just have the fastest, most complex and efficient processor going at this time. Not neccesarily. We haven't really figured out how to benchmark other species' brains properly and I wouldn't be surprised if something like individual bottle-nosed dolphins or elephants couldn't rival at least some individual humans.
- MaxBarraclough 4y ago> On this planet, we just have the fastest, most complex and efficient processor going at this time. Depending on application. For arithmetic operations we're hopelessly outclassed even by pocket calculators.
- naasking 4y ago> If you are a set of pattern recognition layers responding to stimuli, then I would not be so shocked you are unconcerned about the hard problem of consciousness. I am as unconcerned about the hard problem as I am about elan vital, because there is just as much "compelling" evidence for either.
- dougmwne 4y agoI mean, the evidence is there all the time, experienced continuously. That is unless you do not have qualia?
- naasking 4y agoPerceptions taken at face value are not evidence. Evidence is an observation interpreted within a consistent body of knowledge. Our consistent body of knowledge is inconsistent with the naive perceptions of qualia. You can take the position that qualia are direct evidence and so our body of knowledge is mistaken, or you can take the position that qualia are likely deceptive and so cannot be taken as direct evidence, just like all of our other perceptions. I'm constantly amazed how many people think the former position is more plausible.
- dougmwne 4y agoI walk around on legs. I can’t be sure if I am moving because of the legs or through some other action. Some people who dislike the idea of legs are telling me I don’t really have legs.
- naasking 4y agoIf you also claim that your legs let you walk on water and sometimes even walk off a cliff without falling, then I'd agree your analogy is in the right ballpark.
- dougmwne 4y agoYes I agree there, that I’m saying my legs are magical and others are telling me they don’t exist at all.
- naasking 4y agoSo then we agree, you are saying your legs exist and are magical and therefore our understanding of the world must be wrong, and I am saying that our understanding of the world implies that magic doesn't exist and so you must be mistaken about the magic of your legs.
- daviross 4y agoIsn't that the sort of question a non-conscious entity would ask?
- dougmwne 4y agoWell they don’t call it the hard problem for nothing, my fellow entity.