Tag Archives: Consciousness

Dogs have metacognition, maybe

Posted on December 9, 2018 by

Last year in a post on panpsychism, I introduced a hierarchy I use to conceptualize the capabilities of systems that we intuitively see as conscious.  This isn’t a new theory of consciousness or anything, just my own way of making … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

On imagination, feelings, and brain regions

Posted on November 11, 2018 by

The last post on feelings generated some excellent conversations.  In a couple of them, it was pointed out that my description of feelings put a lot of work on the concept of imagination, and that maybe I should expand on … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , | 62 Comments

The construction of feelings

Posted on October 28, 2018 by

I’ve had a number of conversations lately on the subject of feelings, the affective states of having valences about conscious perception, such as fear, pain, joy, hunger, etc.  Apparently a lot of people view feelings as a very mysterious phenomenon.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , | 123 Comments

Inflate and explode, or deflate and preserve?

Posted on September 9, 2018 by

Philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel has an interesting post up criticizing the arguments of illusionists, those who have concluded that phenomenal consciousness is an illusion. Here’s a way to deny the existence of things of Type X. Assume that things of Type … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , | 93 Comments

The prospects for a scientific understanding of consciousness

Posted on July 2, 2018 by

Michael Shermer has an article up at Scientific American asking if science will ever understand consciousness, free will, or God. I contend that not only consciousness but also free will and God are mysterian problems—not because we are not yet … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , , | 190 Comments

Adding imagination to AI

Posted on July 31, 2017 by

As we’ve discussed in recent posts on consciousness, I think imagination has a crucial role to play in animal consciousness.  It’s part of a hierarchy I currently use to keep the broad aspects of cognition straight in my mind. Reflexes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Does information require conscious interpretation to be information?

Posted on July 15, 2017 by

Peter Kassan has an article at Skeptic Magazine which sets out to disprove the simulation hypothesis, the idea that we’re all living in a computer simulation. I personally find arguing about the simulation hypothesis unproductive.  Short of the simulation owner … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , | 32 Comments