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Is consciousness grounded in matter or the other way around?
We will ask physics about physicalism, zombies, and consciousness.
This video is an as-simple-as-I-could explanation of this article https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/23108/
We will use a bit of physics and math, but I'll introduce these smoothly, to make the trip easy and interesting. Many of the implications of this result remain open to be discussed later.
Abstract of the article
If the mind of a sentient being would be reducible to its structure, any system with identical structure should be equally sentient. Based on the structural symmetries of Physics, I prove that this thesis has two unexpected consequences:
1) There would be an inflation of minds, living in apparently different worlds.
2) The content of these minds would be independent of the properties of the external world. That is, these minds would be unable to know anything about the world.
Since this contradicts empirical observations, structure alone is insufficient for sentient experience.
This excludes the purely physicalistic approaches to physics and consciousness. For physics to be as we know it, all physical properties have to be grounded in something sentiential.
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Is consciousness grounded in matter or the other way around?
We will ask physics about physicalism, zombies, and consciousness.
This video is an as-simple-as-I-could explanation of this article https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/23108/
We will use a bit of physics and math, but I'll introduce these smoothly, to make the trip easy and interesting. Many of the implications of this result remain open to be discussed later.
Abstract of the article
If the mind of a sentient being would be reducible to its structure, any system with identical structure should be equally sentient. Based on the structural symmetries of Physics, I prove that this thesis has two unexpected consequences:
1) There would be an inflation of minds, living in apparently different worlds.
2) The content of these minds would be independent of the properties of the external world. That is, these minds would be unable to know anything about the world.
Since this contradicts empirical observations, structure alone is insufficient for sentient experience.
This excludes the purely physicalistic approaches to physics and consciousness. For physics to be as we know it, all physical properties have to be grounded in something sentiential.
62
views
1
comment
Are you a robot? E2. Experiment: Computation is a convention!
In this series in three parts:
Can a computer have its own mind?
Is your mind just a computation?
We will see what Computer Science has to say. Don't worry, it's beginner level!
DIY experiment so that you can verify what I say.
The proof appeals to logic and experiment, not to phenomenal experience ("what is like", the "hard problem of consciousness", qualia, the experience of feelings, emotions, pain or pleasure etc)
Based on O.C. Stoica (2023). "Does a computer think if no one is around to see it?" http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/22880/
In Episode 2, we will make an experiment to see that what we call computation is a convention, and it can be chosen in numerous ways. We will explore some implications.
19
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Are you a robot? E3. Is your mind just a computation?
In this series in three parts:
Can a computer have its own mind?
Is your mind just a computation?
We will see what Computer Science has to say. Don't worry, it's beginner level!
DIY experiment so that you can verify what I say.
The proof appeals to logic and experiment, not to phenomenal experience ("what is like", the "hard problem of consciousness", qualia, the experience of feelings, emotions, pain or pleasure etc)
Based on O.C. Stoica (2023). "Does a computer think if no one is around to see it?" http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/22880/
In Episode 3, we will see that there is a way to know if your mind is just a computation.
18
views
Are you a robot? E1. Can we read a robot’s mind from its circuits?
In this series in three parts:
Can a computer have its own mind?
Is your mind just a computation?
We will see what Computer Science has to say. Don't worry, it's beginner level!
DIY experiment so that you can verify what I say.
The proof appeals to logic and experiment, not to phenomenal experience ("what is like", the "hard problem of consciousness", qualia, the experience of feelings, emotions, pain or pleasure etc)
Based on O.C. Stoica (2023). "Does a computer think if no one is around to see it?" http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/22880/
In Episode 1, we will see that what we call computation is a convention, and it can be chosen in numerous ways.
16
views