Re: Why Humans are Conscious

pete wrote:

on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:49:11 -0500 (EST), dkomo <dkomo871@xxxxxxxxxxx> sez:

Tim Tyler wrote:


claudiusdenk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Feb 6, 10:51 am, Guy A Hoelzer <hoel...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
claudiusd...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote on 2/4/07 12:19 PM:
On Feb 3, 12:00 am, dkomo <dkomo...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Tim Tyler wrote:
claudiusd...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Sure. To some degree. But human consciousness is orders of
magnitude
higher than that of any other species, most notably our closest
relatives, chimps.
You have access to a consciousnessometer?
Are you sure it's calibrated right?
Humans seem to be extremely similar to chimps in this
respect - as far as I can see.
Really? Can chimps work calculus problems too? And Sudoku puzzles?
[moderator's note: How would we know? -HAG]
How is it not obvious?

If you raised a human with the exact same environment
and set of experiences as a chimp, do you think we
could observe their ability to do calculus or Sudoku?

Irrelevant.

I think the answer to the question above is not so obvious.

The question that matters is what would happen if a chimps
was raised in a human family.

Most likely the chimp would get screwed up - much like
any individual ripped from its natural parents and
adopted by members of a different species would be.

Note that ability at calculus and Sudoku doesn't seem to
have much to do with what it says on:

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=consciousness
--


Consciousness = mind = what the brain does when it is running.


Ability at calculus and Sudoku puzzles is an observable. It's what the
human brain does, or can do. Chimps can't, so they have less
consciousness.


What, are you another McGinn sock puppet?


Who?

Consciousness is not thinking, consciousness is not doing,
consciousness is not understanding the world. Consciousness
is being a subjective observer of experience. Period.
Now, we can talk about the various degrees of all those
other things, no problem. Just don't call them consciousness.


This is your own definition. I would call what you are describing above
"awareness", and it is an aspect of consciousness. Definitions of
consciousness are like assholes -- everybody has one (of his own).

I'm trying to be comprehensive with my definition of consciousness. I
see it as everything that a brain produces, including behavior. It is
present in various degrees throughout the animal world. Because it
involves behavior and performance, it is objectively observable.

It is a process, not a thing. Included within consciousness are
subprocesses such as intelligence, awareness, perception, and language.
Specifically, ability at calculus and Sudoku puzzles involves
cognitive intelligence, but this is nonetheless included in my
definition of consciousness.


--dkomo@xxxxxxxx





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