I'm teaching Robert Wright's,"Why it is like Something to Be Alive." Hmmmm...It has to do with the consciousness of bats and he cites this guy Nagel. Nagel says, "The essence of the belief that bats have experience is that there is something that is is like to be a bat." What? Here are my notes.
So only bats could know what it's like to have consciousness...so...we could never know?
He's saying that everything is something, but then he goes into what consciousness is in a random rambling tone highlighted with pop culture references i.e. the Jetsons and GMC trucks. Then he talks about Descartes, "I think therefore I am."
Here's the definition of epiphenomenon:
ep·i·phe·nom·e·non (ĕp'ə-fĭ-nŏm'ə-nŏn') pronunciation
n., pl. -na (-nə).
1. A secondary phenomenon that results from and accompanies another: “Exploitation of one social class or ethnic group by another [is] an epiphenomenon of real differences in power between social groups” (Harper's).
2. Pathology. An additional condition or symptom in the course of a disease, not necessarily connected with the disease.
Reading this, I must say, that I don't like Robert Wright. Here's a picture of the goober. He has this rambling, smart-alecky tone, as he tries to coin terms like "Shadow Consciousness."
Wait..by paragraph 17, I'm starting to like him. I'm buying into his punniness.
He shifts from bats to computer consciousness and to be honest, I think my students have had technology beaten so deep into their craniums that this is simply white noise.
Ok...he's starting to allude to the concept of a "Ghost in a Shell."
"Koestler is using a different approach, aiming at a more general explanatory principle, the hierarchical organisation of life and the adaptability of living forms through a continuous exchange of energy and information."
su·per·flu·ous (sʊ-pûr'flū-əs) pronunciation
adj.
Being beyond what is required or sufficient.
Wright: "That's the tough question. If the feeling is truly superfluous, then there can be no evolutionary explanation of it."
Paragraph 23: Copier metaphor.
Para 24, he's equating consciousness to evolution. Consciousness is a mistake...copies of copies.
Para 26 computers don't need to be self conscious to be conscious.
Para 29 he talks about the robots on the subway...robot dating...they are acting...like a really bad actor saying, "I love you"
Para 30 goes into morality of killing robots. I wonder if it's the same as killing a bug
Para 31 why consciousness exists...is it a survival instinct?
Para 33 he brings to question, is consciousness an afterthought? A secondary phenomenon?
Conclusion...he's basically saying it's something to be alive and it's something to simply a product of evolution. We should accept it and deal with it. Hmmm...I think he probably pissed off a bunch of religious people
So only bats could know what it's like to have consciousness...so...we could never know?
He's saying that everything is something, but then he goes into what consciousness is in a random rambling tone highlighted with pop culture references i.e. the Jetsons and GMC trucks. Then he talks about Descartes, "I think therefore I am."
Here's the definition of epiphenomenon:
ep·i·phe·nom·e·non (ĕp'ə-fĭ-nŏm'ə-nŏn') pronunciation
n., pl. -na (-nə).
1. A secondary phenomenon that results from and accompanies another: “Exploitation of one social class or ethnic group by another [is] an epiphenomenon of real differences in power between social groups” (Harper's).
2. Pathology. An additional condition or symptom in the course of a disease, not necessarily connected with the disease.
Reading this, I must say, that I don't like Robert Wright. Here's a picture of the goober. He has this rambling, smart-alecky tone, as he tries to coin terms like "Shadow Consciousness."
Wait..by paragraph 17, I'm starting to like him. I'm buying into his punniness.
He shifts from bats to computer consciousness and to be honest, I think my students have had technology beaten so deep into their craniums that this is simply white noise.
Ok...he's starting to allude to the concept of a "Ghost in a Shell."
"Koestler is using a different approach, aiming at a more general explanatory principle, the hierarchical organisation of life and the adaptability of living forms through a continuous exchange of energy and information."
su·per·flu·ous (sʊ-pûr'flū-əs) pronunciation
adj.
Being beyond what is required or sufficient.
Wright: "That's the tough question. If the feeling is truly superfluous, then there can be no evolutionary explanation of it."
Paragraph 23: Copier metaphor.
Para 24, he's equating consciousness to evolution. Consciousness is a mistake...copies of copies.
Para 26 computers don't need to be self conscious to be conscious.
Para 29 he talks about the robots on the subway...robot dating...they are acting...like a really bad actor saying, "I love you"
Para 30 goes into morality of killing robots. I wonder if it's the same as killing a bug
Para 31 why consciousness exists...is it a survival instinct?
Para 33 he brings to question, is consciousness an afterthought? A secondary phenomenon?
Conclusion...he's basically saying it's something to be alive and it's something to simply a product of evolution. We should accept it and deal with it. Hmmm...I think he probably pissed off a bunch of religious people
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