tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158778496551704861.post3174179401445912095..comments2023-10-19T08:11:22.616-04:00Comments on #ChaosIsGood: Living 4 Ever = DNA + Memory + Virtual Environment?Sevanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00624466505406065655noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6158778496551704861.post-14435627683724721372010-12-26T23:36:32.298-05:002010-12-26T23:36:32.298-05:00comment from a friend (Chris) via email:
This pos...comment from a friend (Chris) via email:<br /><br />This post gets to the heart of a problem in Philosophy of Mind: why is that consciousness emerges from physical systems? You can probably imagine the spectrum of responses to the question. Some people argue that there is nothing more to cognition than brain activity, such that any appearances to the contrary (e.g. introspection or free will) are chimerical, illusions, by products of brain function. On the other end of the spectrum is Descartes, who contended that the mind is an immaterial substance of equal ontological status as matter. There are very people who adhere to either end of the continuum.<br /><br />The idea that we will be able to up/download consciousness is feasible, in my opinion. It requires two things: a deeply explanatory answer to the question above (which I think would entail a deep understanding of brain function), and the ability to encode consciousness data. It is really remarkable how much progress we have made on both fronts.<br /><br />Check out this link. It describes how scientists implanted a lamprey brain into a robot that could interact with the physical world. <br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1043001.stm<br /><br />If that could be done, then it is not that far of a stretch to imagine a human brain connected to a sophisticated computer and environment.Sevanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00624466505406065655noreply@blogger.com