On 3/19/2018 6:10 PM, John Clark wrote:
On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 7:56 PM, Brent Meeker <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>wrote:
/
>
You're the one who floated a theory of consciousness based on
evolution. /
I did indeed.
/
>
I'm just pointing out that it only shows that consciousness exists
in humans for some evolutionarily selected purpose. /
*NO!*That is exactly what it doesn't show! Consciousness has no
evolutionary purpose, it couldn't have because Evolution can't even
detect consciousness, its no better at it than we are at detecting
consciousness in others. So consciousness must be a byproduct of
something that Evolution *can*detect, like intelligence.
But a necessary byproduct of hominid evolved intelligence; otherwise it
could be dispensed with. If it's a necessary byproduct that means it's
necessary for our intelligence and so it exists for an evolutionarily
selected reason.
When a architect decides to put an arch inside a rectangular enclosure
he doesn't separately decide to put a spandrel in there too because it
would look nice, he gets the spandrel automatically whether he wants
one or not. Consciousness is a biological spandrel.
Fine. But if the roof isn't supported by arches the spandrels don't
appear. If intelligence evolves via some other path (as in octopuses)
or is designed rather than evolved the argument that it will be
accompanied by consciousness fails.
Brent
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