meekerdb wrote:
On 5/15/2015 7:37 PM, Bruce Kellett wrote:
meekerdb wrote:
But you could turn this around and pick some arbitrary
sequence/recording and say, "Well it would be the right program to be
conscious in SOME circumstance, therefore it's conscious."
I think it goes without saying that it is a recording of brain
activity of a conscious person -- not a film of your dog chasing a
ball. We have to assume a modicum of common sense.
Fine. But then what is it about the recording of the brain activity of
a conscious person that makes it conscious? Why is it a property of
just that sequence, when in general we would attribute consciousness
only to an entity that responded intelligently/differently to different
circumstances. We wouldn't attribute consciousness based on just a
short sequence of behavior such as might be evinced by one of Disney's
animitronics.
What is it about the brain activity of a conscious person that makes him
conscious? Whatever made the person conscious in the first instance is
what makes the recording recreate that conscious moment. The point here
is that consciousness supervenes on the brain activity. This makes no
ontological claims -- simply an epistemological claim. This brain
activity is associated with the phenomenon we call consciousness.
How we determine whether a person is conscious in the first place is a
different matter.
Bruce
I think Bruno is right that it makes more sense to attribute
consciousness, like intelligence, to a program that can respond
differently and effectively to a wide range of inputs. And, maybe
unlike Bruno, I think intelligence and consciousness is only possible
relative to an environment, one with extent in time as well as space.
Brent
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