John G. Rose wrote:
From: Brad Paulsen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Not exactly (to start with, you can *never* be 100% sure, try though you
might :-) ). Take all of the investigations into "rockness" since the
dawn of homo sapiens and we still only have a 0.9995 probability that
rocks are not conscious. Everything is belief. Even "hard" science.
That was the nub of Hume's intellectual contribution. It doesn't mean
we can't be "sure enough." It just means that we can never be 100% sure
of *anything*.
We can be 100% sure that we can never be 100% sure of *anything*.
Including that statement! I believe (with 0.51 probability) my point has been made. :-)
Of course, there's belief and then there's BELIEF. To me (and to Hume),
it's not a difference in kind. It's just that the leap from
observational evidence to empirical (natural) belief is a helluvalot
shorter than is the leap from observational evidence to supernatural
belief.
I agree that it is for us in the modern day technological society. But it may
not have been always the case. We have been grounded by reason. Before reason
it may have been largely supernatural. That's why sometimes I think AGI's could
start off with little knowledge and lots of supernatural, just to make it
easier for it to attach properties to the void. It starts off knowing there is
some god bringing it into existence but eventually it figures out that the god
is just some geek software engineer and then it becomes atheist real quick heheh
I don't entirely disagree with you. I don't entirely agree either.
But, like the "is a rock conscious" thread, if we want to continue this
one we should either take it off-list or move it to the Singularity
Outreach list. Don't ya think? :-\
John
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