IUBio

machine brains

Malcolm McMahon malcolm at pigsty.demon.co.uk
Fri Mar 5 15:02:57 EST 1999


On Fri, 05 Mar 1999 14:14:42 GMT, ZZZghull at stny.lrun.com (Jerry Hull)
wrote:
>>>
>>>Which makes consciousness part of what?
>>
>>God? Why does it have to be a part of anything, for that matter, why
>>can't it be just another part of the universe which "just is", like a
>>photon or an electron. Not everything is made of something.
>
>Everything is made of something;

No, only composite things are made of something. Elementary particles
are not. What's an electron made of?

 if they were made of nothing they wouldn't be
>anything.  The puzzle is the relation between conciousness and mind, on your
>view.  Why suppose, as you seem to, that consciousness is not mental?

Because it's not really _like_ any kind of mental processing. Thinking
is something we _do_, consciousness is something we _are_.

>  Is
>there no "mental"? 

Yes, but it's probably just the information content of the brain. It's
not a separate thing but as aspect, a way of looking at, the brain.


> Is consciousness yet a third thing, in addition to minds
>and bodies?  I mean, the metaphysical problems in this area are in part
>taxological, so the denial of a connection between consciousness & mind only
>seems to make them worse.

Yes, but consciousness exists, requires explaning and is not adequately
explained by the mind.




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