DM, "Choice" may be important in evolution. You can say a tossed coin "chooses" head or tails or that germs and electrons "choose" this or that state. This is the intentional stance. But problems occur when by "choose" we mean volitional choice. There really is a difference and while I am the first to acknowledge fuzzy edges, these edges aren't all that fuzzy.
Krimel ------------------------------------------------------- Hi Krim But selection by choice is very important in evolution, and we may need to consider this assumption to find explanatory theses, for example mates making certain sexual choices for very showy displays. Could find that germs or electrons appear to favour characteristics for such reasons. I just have suspicions that a simple animate/inanimate distinction is hard to locate at a certain level and likely to be gradual in some way. The opposite view smells ideological to me. DM > [Platt] > Whether a germ knows there's an independent reality or not is debatable > since we don't know what it's like to be a germ. That a germ knows that > it's better for it to be in one place rather than another can be assumed > by its behavior. > Similarly with an electron. > > [Krimel] > If we don't know what a germ knows maybe we ought to just talk about what > it does rather than making ass-u-me-tions about what it knows. > Similarly with electrons. Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
