What makes consciousness? The star trek episode asked is data sentient, but I think the mirror question is just as interesting, how are we anything more than a machine?
We need fuel like a car, there are byproducts to the expenditure of that energy and evidence of chemical reactions, there are all manner of chemical systems that regulate our subjective experiences, measurable and deterministic. We can inject drugs that will turn off the brains ability to form memories...
If there are physical/chemical rules that we are subject to, then it seems like discovering those rules that govern a machine and the rules that govern ourselves are a matter of degree of complexity and not intractability.
If you believe reality is deterministic, then I think don't think this "reductive" view of humans is that far fetched.
In Star Trek it was asked if Data has a soul, but I think it's just as reasonable to ask do we have souls. Do we have something beyond that which can be measured by physics?
Does Human = Machine or does Human = Machine + Soul?
I personally think Human = Machine.
Lunch has an effect on interview results. How "in control" do you think you are?
What makes consciousness? The star trek episode asked is data sentient, but I think the mirror question is just as interesting, how are we anything more than a machine?
We need fuel like a car, there are byproducts to the expenditure of that energy and evidence of chemical reactions, there are all manner of chemical systems that regulate our subjective experiences, measurable and deterministic. We can inject drugs that will turn off the brains ability to form memories...
If there are physical/chemical rules that we are subject to, then it seems like discovering those rules that govern a machine and the rules that govern ourselves are a matter of degree of complexity and not intractability.
If you believe reality is deterministic, then I think don't think this "reductive" view of humans is that far fetched.
In Star Trek it was asked if Data has a soul, but I think it's just as reasonable to ask do we have souls. Do we have something beyond that which can be measured by physics?
Does Human = Machine or does Human = Machine + Soul?
I personally think Human = Machine.
Lunch has an effect on interview results. How "in control" do you think you are?