Re: Re: How would a computer know if it were conscious?

2007-06-25 Thread David Nyman
Mark: Accepting broadly your summary up to this point... MP: But I have to *challenge you to clarify* whether what I write next really ties in completely with what you are thinking. DN: My seconds will call on you! MP: Consciousness is something we know personally, and through di

Re: How would a computer know if it were conscious?

2007-06-25 Thread David Nyman
On 25/06/07, Brent Meeker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: BM: If I understand you, I would agree with the clarification that this convergence has been performed by evolution; so that for us it is in the most part hardwired at birth. And this hardwired interpretation of the world is something that co-

Re: How would a computer know if it were conscious?

2007-06-25 Thread Brent Meeker
David Nyman wrote: > On 25/06/07, *Russell Standish* <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > wrote: ... > RS: The conscious entity that the computer implements would know about > it. It is not imaginary to itself. And by choosing to interpret the > computer's program in that way, rather

Re: Re: How would a computer know if it were conscious?

2007-06-25 Thread Mark Peaty
David, We have reached some understanding in the 'asifism' thread, and I would summarise that, tilted towards the context of this line of this thread, more or less as follows. Existence - * The irreducible primitive is existence per se; * that we can know about this implies different

Re: How would a computer know if it were conscious?

2007-06-25 Thread David Nyman
On 25/06/07, Russell Standish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: RS: Its more actually "out there in the Multiverse", rather than the Plenitude, as the Multiverse is a necessary prerequisite of observation. Its at least one level of emergence up from the bitstring plenitude. DN: OK RS: Emergence is ent

Re: How would a computer know if it were conscious?

2007-06-25 Thread Russell Standish
On Sun, Jun 24, 2007 at 08:20:49PM +0100, David Nyman wrote: > RS: In some Platonic sense, all possible observers are already > out there, but by physically instantiating it in our world, we are in > effect opening up a communication channel between ourselves and the > new consciousness. > > I t