RE: Sam Harris On Defining Consciousness
August 27, 2015 at 10:16 pm
(This post was last modified: August 27, 2015 at 10:52 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
No, my version is "is aware of it's environment". We judge this by response, even in our own case.
A worm may or may not know what it's like to be a worm. I do see that it's aware of it's environment, regardless, though.
Your usage is huge, pregnant, filled to bursting.... and contains things which you claim cannot be or have not been demonstrated. Mine is specific, and demonstrable.
My conscious is not my qualia, it is simply awareness - not any experience of that awareness. There is a difference to me, as there is to you. You and I can both demonstrate awareness. You feel that qualia cannot be demonstrated. Wouldn't qualia be demonstrable by the same means that awareness is demonstrated - if they're the same thing? Perhaps you should divide a little as well, in fact I'm certain that you do.
You may be bored...but there's alot of this boring stuff going on, and it has some amazing effects and combinations. You can't really demonstrate that your qualia isn't one of them, and all the evidence we have suggests that it is.....as unbelievable or impossible as it may seem to be, to you. It might be more interesting than you think...lol. Personally, that I see qualia as the function of a machine makes it infinitely more interesting than as some ethereal, un-demonstrable property. After all, if something entirely unknown is happening, all bets are off. It might be pretty damned simple for "x" to produce qualia. Whereas squeezing qualia out of a typewriter made of flesh and bone seems to be a little more difficult, no? It's some seriously classy shit, however it was arrived at.
A worm may or may not know what it's like to be a worm. I do see that it's aware of it's environment, regardless, though.
Your usage is huge, pregnant, filled to bursting.... and contains things which you claim cannot be or have not been demonstrated. Mine is specific, and demonstrable.
My conscious is not my qualia, it is simply awareness - not any experience of that awareness. There is a difference to me, as there is to you. You and I can both demonstrate awareness. You feel that qualia cannot be demonstrated. Wouldn't qualia be demonstrable by the same means that awareness is demonstrated - if they're the same thing? Perhaps you should divide a little as well, in fact I'm certain that you do.
You may be bored...but there's alot of this boring stuff going on, and it has some amazing effects and combinations. You can't really demonstrate that your qualia isn't one of them, and all the evidence we have suggests that it is.....as unbelievable or impossible as it may seem to be, to you. It might be more interesting than you think...lol. Personally, that I see qualia as the function of a machine makes it infinitely more interesting than as some ethereal, un-demonstrable property. After all, if something entirely unknown is happening, all bets are off. It might be pretty damned simple for "x" to produce qualia. Whereas squeezing qualia out of a typewriter made of flesh and bone seems to be a little more difficult, no? It's some seriously classy shit, however it was arrived at.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
