Holy crap, it's another "answer me these questions three" post

[alexr_rwx]

- What is consciousness or self-awareness? (and are they the same thing?) If Brains Cause Minds, like people often assert, then how? This is more subtle than you might think on the surface -- you're all like, "okay, so it's some really complex electrochemical system that does stuff, just by virtue of following physical laws" ... but what or who is experiencing all of this? This is probably the same question as "how does a physical thing somehow generate an aware agent?" To answer this, do you need to resort to a metaphysical soul of some sort?

- You can know that you yourself are awake/experiencing, but can you know that other people are as well? (as in, they could very well be non-cognizant systems that just produce output, without doing that mind-thing that you think you're doing... right?)

- Could something that's not "alive" in the traditional sense, say a computer, reach a level of sophistication that would allow it to be aware in the same way that you are?

These are likely terribly trite questions for our brain-and-behaviour and philosophy/religion folks (zip4096 and eponis, particularly)... but if anybody feels like taking a stab, have at!

Comments

[falun.livejournal.com]

http://interz0ne.wilpig.org/ -- virgil's thingy... as a plus you get to see why I try to remember not to speak on topics I don't know about -- i forget about the importance of perspective and focus to much on non-issues

[eponis.livejournal.com]

- self-reflexive knowledge of one's interactions with the world - yes - a collection of memories in oneself and others - yes

- yes

- yes

Er. More seriously, I'm in the middle of papers, but I thought this might amuse you:

http://www.geocities.com/krinklyman2/powers.html

[reality-calls.livejournal.com]

- OK, if I could form any sort of definitive answer on this, I would be internationally recognized and probably own several honorary doctorates by now.  Given what I've read by Douglas Hofstadter on the nature of cognition and intelligence, mind is by definition not a physical object, rather it is a non-physical pattern created as far as science can tell within a physical object.  This in itself does not necessitate the existence of a "soul"(though I've always disliked the religious connotation associated with this word) but it doesn't disprove such an existence either.  In short, I don't know-- Waaaaaah!

- (shouting from the bottom of the Gorge of Eternal Peril) You can't necessarily even know that you yourself are awake, though it's a pretty solid bet you're experiencing things.  But of course there's nothing that guarantees those around you are capable of the same thought and experiences as you are, it's just an inductive conclusion made from noticing the fact that there's no substantial physical differences between you and others, and behaviors vary quite a bit, which indicates that there is some sort of controlling entity within others similar to that which is within you.  But there's no way to be sure.  Then again, how can you be sure of anything???

- Considering the fact that no one part of my physical body is "alive" in the traditional sense,(at least, not by itself) I would have to conclude that my awareness is not directly tied to my biological nature.  In short, yes.

      "Live from the People's Republic"