> http://www.goertzel.org/dynapsyc/2004/HardProblem.htm > > Comments welcome... > > -- Ben G
I'm pretty sure that your (kind of a) solution is correct: it stays in a materialistic framework (no mind body dualism) and yet does not deny the existence of qualia (Like Dennett does). It is the most simple theory that 'fits the data'. There is, however, this problem: we'd like to know what the qualia are that correspond to all kinds of patterns. But we only know (or rather, are) the qualia corresponding to patterns in the brain. But we would like to know the experiences of bats, rocks, computers, hurricanes etc etc too. But of course the patterns of those systems do not occur in the human brain (maybe there's some resemblance). To experience the qualia of a certain system, you have to be that system (as was already pointed out by Nagel, as you surely know). This barrier seems to entail that investigation into qualia of other type of systems than your own is impossible. Often I've wondered if there isn't some opening: changing into a system, and then see what you experience. But if the system is not cognitive like a rock or a hurricane, it's hopeless. And changing into a bat won't work either because such creatures are not able to be introspective. Changing into another similarly (to us) intelligent lifeform (and back) may be the only option (in the far far future). But to get back to our brains, I can imagine that a (near) perfect correlation between certain brain processes (in a very precise (molecular) description) and certain simultaneaous qualia (in a precise phenomenological description) are going to be found. Then we know about certain physical processes (these brain processes) what their qualia are (or: what qualia they are. And then maybe, we could start to vary these processes, and see how experience changes with them. And maybe then we could find patterns/law-like behaviour in that that allow us to predict what experience will result from certain (mutated) brain processes. An maybe then we can extrapolate to very different systems (non-cognitive?) than human beings. Maybe maybe maybe.... of course, it's all very speculative. What is clear to me is that qualia research is not so much a part of psychology, but much more a part of elementary particle physics, because what the qualia-pattern identity theory says (according to me) is that qualia are just what physical processes are in themselves (as opposed to: 'are for us' e.g. modelled with mathematics). Psychology only plays a role beacuse of the fact that human beings are our only entrance to investigate qualia. Bye, Arnoud M ------- To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your subscription, please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
