(April 4, 2016 at 11:52 am)bennyboy Wrote:(April 4, 2016 at 11:36 am)little_monkey Wrote: All of that stuff is part of the computer, but without the software, all of that stuff isn't a computer.
My question then is the same as for Rhythm, except with software instead of systems. What's the difference between software and a bunch of stuff? It seems to me it is the intentionality that is injected into the context by minds OUTSIDE the system which are required to imbue any of it with any meaning.
True, but computers don't compare to a human mind as the latter took 5 billion years to evolve to what it is today. Evolution doesn't have intentionality. It produces organism that struggles to survive. In that struggle, species improve in mobility, in responding to different stimuli, in adapting to a multitude of environments, and so on. Memory, self-awareness, intelligence increased as species became more complex. There's no reason to believe that evolution has any intentionality whatsoever. Randomness, natural selection, flow of the gene pool, etc. can account for the development of the different species. And we see in the development of the brain throughout this evolution. Why you need to believe in some intentionality is a question you need to ask yourself. I see no problem in not believe in any intentionality in the evolution of life on this planet. It makes life more wonderful, more precious, more exciting than to believe that some deity has a plan. Why would I want to be at the mercy of such a plan?!?
