(February 9, 2016 at 3:48 pm)Rhondazvous Wrote:(February 9, 2016 at 4:07 am)Evie Wrote: Dark matter is physical. Spirit is not. Spirit is also hocus-pocus nonexistent bullshit.We recognize our own consciousness. But this recognition is very subjective. I am conscious because I am conscious and that is the end of that.
Consciousness is the one thing in the world we have absolute proof exists. The lights are on.
That is all.
The purpose of this thread is to take us beyond mere assertions. What objective definition would we use? Can we define consciousness in a way that excludes the possibility that computers are conscious?
We have defined it, it is just that you are having a hard time accepting it. That is an evolutionary reaction on your part out of a sense of wanting to survive. You are wanting some sort of "forever" subconsciously without realizing it, and the truth is there is no "forever" for your brain. You are merely projecting your own desires into this discussion.
Consciousness is an abstract word used to describe your brain in motion. Once your brain dies, you die, that is it. It is a manifestation of electrico-biochemical activity combined with our particular species structure of brain. It is an outcome of evolution. But when that structure is destroyed beyond repair, there is no more you.
AI isn't the same thing, that is why it is called artificial, and yes, increasingly computers are learning to learn. But we are not talking about human inventions, we are talking about evolutionary biology. Don't confuse the two.
"All this" is a result of a giant weather pattern that started in a tiny space 14 billion years ago, but it is not conscious as a whole, we are merely an outcome of that weather pattern. We are a very temporary and finite blip. While you are alive your light is on, but you were off and did not exist before you were born, and your light will go out when you die.
Nothing created us like a factory boss makes a product. Just like you know Thor is not the cause of lightening and you know Poseidon is not the cause of hurricanes. Both lightening and hurricanes are a result of conditions, and the same with evolution and the human brain.
