Ben,
I suspect you're being evasive. You and I know what feel means. When I feel
the wind, I feel cold. When I feel tea poured on my hand, I/it feel/s
scalding hot. And we can trace the line of feeling to a considerable
extent - no? - through the nervous system and brain. Not only do I feel it
internally, but there are normally external signs of my feeling. You see me
shivering/ wincing etc. And we - science - can interfere with those feelings
and anaesthetise or heighten them.
Now when the rock is exposed to the same wind or hot tea, if it does feel
anything, it stoically and heroically refuses to display any signs
whatsoever. It appears to be magnificently indifferent. And if it really is
suffering, we wouldn't know what to do to alleviate its suffering.
So what do you (or others) mean by inanimate things feeling?
I'm mainly seeking enlightenment not an argument here - and to see whether
your or others' panpsychism has been at all thought through, and is more
than an abstract conjunction of concepts. I assume there is some substance
to the philosophy - I'd like to know what it is.
I
Ben:
well, what does "feel" mean to you ... what is feeling that a slug can
do but a rock or an atom cannot ... are you sure this is an absolute
distinction rather than a matter of degree?
On Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 6:15 PM, Mike Tintner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
Ben: I'm a panpsychist ...
You think that all things are sentient/ conscious?
(I argue that consciousness depends on having a nervous system and being
able to feel - and if we could understand the mechanics of that, we would
probably have solved the hard problem and be able to give something
similar
to a machine (which might have to be organic) ).
So I'm interested in any alternative/panpsychist views. If you do think
that
inorganic things like stones, say, are conscious, then surely it would
follow, that we should ultimately be able to explain their consciousness,
and make even inanimate metallic computers conscious?
Care to expand a little on your views?
-------------------------------------------
agi
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/
Modify Your Subscription:
https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=120640061-aded06
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
