At Nautilus, Joel Frohlich posits how we'll know when an AI is conscious. He starts off by accepting David Chalmers' concept of a philosophical zombie, but then makes this statement. But I have a slight problem with Chalmers’ zombies. Zombies are supposed to be capable of asking any question about the nature of experience. It’s worth … Continue reading Why we’ll know AI is conscious before it will
Tag: Consciousness
The sensorium, the motorium, and the planner
I've been reading Gerhard Roth's The Long Evolution of Brains and Minds. This a technical and, unfortunately, expensive book, not one aimed at general audiences, but it has a lot of interesting concepts. A couple that Roth mentions are the terms "sensorium" and "motorium." The sensorium refers to the sum total of an organism's perceptions, … Continue reading The sensorium, the motorium, and the planner
Did smell lead to consciousness?
Smell has apparently always been a peculiar sense. The sensory pathway of smell information to the brain runs completely independent from the other senses. The pathways for the other senses run through the midbrain and thalamus and are then relayed to cortical regions. But smell goes to the olfactory bulb behind the nose, and from … Continue reading Did smell lead to consciousness?
When does personhood begin?
Gary Whittenberger has an article at Skeptic on discussing personhood and abortion: The pro-person position, as I have outlined it in this essay, recognizes the late fetus and the host woman both as persons with human rights. When these rights come into conflict, as can occur during the last 15 weeks of pregnancy, then the … Continue reading When does personhood begin?
Is the brainstem conscious?
(Warning: neuroscience weeds and references to gruesome animal research.) The vast majority of neuroscientists see consciousness as a cortical phenomenon. It may be crucially dependent on sub-cortical and sub-cerebral structures, but subjective experience itself exists mainly or entirely in the neocortex. In this view, the brainstem only produces reflex responses, with anything more sophisticated coming … Continue reading Is the brainstem conscious?
Strong vs weak emergence
The Neuroskeptic has an interesting post on a paper challenging theories of mind based on strong emergence. A new paper offers a broad challenge to a certain kind of ‘grand theory’ about the brain. According to the authors, Federico E. Turkheimer and colleagues, it is problematic to build models of brain function that rely on ‘strong … Continue reading Strong vs weak emergence
Consciousness lies in the eye of the beholder
There are few things that everyone who ponders consciousness can agree on. It's a topic where debates on the very definition of the subject are common. The only definitions that seem to command near universal assent are the ones oriented toward phenomenology, such as "subjective experience" or "something it is like." And even then, the … Continue reading Consciousness lies in the eye of the beholder
Blindsight explained and conscious perception
Warning: neuroscience weeds. Every so often we get into discussions about where in the brain consciousness lies. Sometimes it's asserted to be in the brainstem, other times in the thalamus, sometimes in the parietal lobe, and yet other times in the prefrontal cortex. Myself, I've concluded that conscious perception requires activation of a network including … Continue reading Blindsight explained and conscious perception
The implications of embodied cognition
Sean Carroll on his podcast interviewed Lisa Aziz-Zadeh on embodied cognition: Brains are important things; they’re where thinking happens. Or are they? The theory of “embodied cognition” posits that it’s better to think of thinking as something that takes place in the body as a whole, not just in the cells of the brain. In … Continue reading The implications of embodied cognition
A qualified recommendation: Consciousness Demystified
A couple of years ago I did a series of posts inspired by Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt's excellent The Ancient Origins of Consciousness, a book on the evolution of animal consciousness. Somewhat building on what I had read in Antonio Damasio's Self Comes to Mind, it was a pivotal point in my exploration of … Continue reading A qualified recommendation: Consciousness Demystified
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