On Tue, May 14, 2019 at 6:08 AM Jason Resch <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sun, May 12, 2019 at 11:30 PM Bruce Kellett <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> From: Jason Resch <[email protected]> >> >> On Fri, May 10, 2019 at 12:26 AM Bruce Kellett <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> From: Jason Resch <[email protected]> >>> >> >> >>> To clarify, let me enumerate stages of the argument such that we can be >>> clear which one we are speaking of: >>> >>> 1. Your brain can be replaced with a functionally equivalent physical >>> component which implements its functions digitally (here we change nothing >>> about our assumption of what the physical universe is) >>> 2. Following from #1, your consciousness can supervene on an >>> appropriately programmed digital computer >>> >>> That implies that my consciousness is just a single computation, >>> potentially implemented on a linear Turing machine. >>> >> >> That I said supervene implies that a many-to-one relationship between >> computations and mental states. >> This is no different from any other functionalist or even physicalist >> theories of mind. That there are neutrinos going through your brain means >> there are different physical states, but these neutrinos (supposedly) don't >> alter your conscious state. Therefore, that many different different >> patterns of neutrinos in your brain result in the same mental/conscious >> state suggests a many-to-one relationship between physical states and >> mental states. >> >> The important point here is that only one pattern of neutrinos exists in >> my brain at any one time. It is not the case that I am a superposition of >> several different patterns. Think of it this way: You can describe the >> action of the brain in consciousness at several different levels: The >> functional level (this brain is conscious); the neuronal level (these >> particular neurons are firing); the chemical level (these particular >> neurotransmitters are flowing here and there); the molecular level (these >> neurons and neurotransmitters are made up of such and such molecules >> interacting in these ways); or the level of atoms, quarks, electromagnetic >> fields, etc, which make up the molecules. All of these levels of >> description are possible, but the all describe the same single brain in >> action. There are not separate simultaneous consciousnesses according to >> each level of description - each underlying program if you like. >> Consciousness is a unitary thing, it is not made up of the sum over, or >> statistics of, many different computational streams. There may be different >> level of description, but there is only one consciousness for each physical >> brain. >> >> >> Hi Bruce, > > I did not mean to suggest that there were multiple consciousnesses > manifested by one brain, but rather my point is that many different > physical states can correspond to the same conscious state. I.e., if the > neutrinos in your brain were in a different pattern right now, I would > wager that your consciousness would not be any different. > That may well be the case, but I fail to see the relevance of such an observation. My consciousness supervenes on my brain as it is now -- it does not supervene on other possibilities. If you think it does, then prove it! Bruce -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAFxXSLTuMPuzR7oqu-SyjsZPPyz%2BP%2BNr6s%3DBHe9sNEexUNdc_Q%40mail.gmail.com.
