George Levy wrote: > Brent Meeker wrote: > > >>That brings us back to Descartes "I think therefore I am"; which Russell >>pointed out was an unsupported inference. >> >> > > > IMHO everything hinges on "I think." "I think" MUST BE THE STARTING > POINT - for any conscious observer THERE IS NO OTHER OBSERVABLE STARTING > POINT!
Are you disputing Russell's point that "I" is a construct and "thinking" is all you have without inference? > "I think" is both an *observed fact* as well as an *axiom* from which > everything else can be derived. I don't think much of anything can be derived from just "I think". For example, "I think" is consistent with "Pigs fly" and with "Pigs don't fly"; so you can't infer whether or not pigs fly. >So you could argue that the observation > of "I think" supports the axiom "I think." In fact any conscious > observation of the world also necessitates the "I think" observation and > the "I think" assumption. > > "I think" also implies the concept of sanity. Unless you assume the > first step "I think" and that you are sane, you can't take any rational > and conscious second step and have any rational and conscious thought > process. You wouldn't be able to hold any rational discussion. But if you weren't sane you might still think you were. To hold a rational discussion you'd need to assume or prove there's someone to talk to. >Inherent > in any computational process is the concept of sanity. Maybe this is > what Bruno refers to as "sane machine." > > "I think" also implies a certain logical/mathematical system (which > Bruno is working on). I "think" not. > > "I think" furthermore implies a reflexive quality Or just assumes it. >which is essential for > consciousness. This reflexive quality is also included in Bruno's > logical/mathematical system. > > "I think" also infers Did you mean "implies"?? Brent Meeker --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
