personhood

Flint · 10-14-2019, 10:03 PM

And yet it continues to work the way it does regardless of whether we understand it or not. It doesn't require our understanding, therefore our understanding isn't important-- to the thing itself.

From an objective point of view, the simplest solution is that consciousness has a biological origin, like every other feature of living organisms.

Arguments against:
1) We don't understand how a biological mechanism could produce free will. This doesn't affect the likelihood of any particular answer. Our understanding is not a factor.
2) A biological origin of consciousness could mean that our decision-making has a deterministic nature. This doesn't affect the likelihood of any particular answer. Our reckoning of what is intuitive is not a factor.
3) A deterministic origin of consciousness could have serious ethical consequences. This doesn't affect the likelihood of any particular answer. Our desire for positive outcomes is not a factor.
4) It feels wrong, bad, uncomfortable, or unintuitive in any way whatsoever. None of this affects the likelihood of any particular answer in the slightest amount.
5) We have a gut feeling that it's more than biology. This doesn't affect the likelihood of any particular answer-- the universe doesn't care about our bias.

View Poll Results: A human being is...
...bio-automation, organic machinery.	1	14.29%
...sumthin’ more than bio-automation, not only organic machinery.	6	85.71%
Voters: 7. You may not vote on this poll

10-14-2019, 10:03 PM	#13
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	And yet it continues to work the way it does regardless of whether we understand it or not. It doesn't require our understanding, therefore our understanding isn't important-- to the thing itself. From an objective point of view, the simplest solution is that consciousness has a biological origin, like every other feature of living organisms. Arguments against: 1) We don't understand how a biological mechanism could produce free will. This doesn't affect the likelihood of any particular answer. Our understanding is not a factor. 2) A biological origin of consciousness could mean that our decision-making has a deterministic nature. This doesn't affect the likelihood of any particular answer. Our reckoning of what is intuitive is not a factor. 3) A deterministic origin of consciousness could have serious ethical consequences. This doesn't affect the likelihood of any particular answer. Our desire for positive outcomes is not a factor. 4) It feels wrong, bad, uncomfortable, or unintuitive in any way whatsoever. None of this affects the likelihood of any particular answer in the slightest amount. 5) We have a gut feeling that it's more than biology. This doesn't affect the likelihood of any particular answer-- the universe doesn't care about our bias. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio** Last edited by Flint; 10-14-2019 at 11:24 PM.

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