[extropy-chat] Tommy (Was: Consciousness is a process in multi-dimensional time!)

[gts]

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 17:21:12 -0500, ben <benboc at lineone.net> wrote:

> I would agree with Acy here. Your scenario supposes 'blind-everything',
> not just blind-sight. AFAIK this is not possible (I would be astonished
> if it were). We understand blind-sight, i believe it's an evolutionarily
> earlier visual pathway. Presumably from a time that pre-dates
> consciousness, which is why it's not connected up to the bits of the
> brain involved in consciousness. Such a person would be able to dodge an
> object coming at his face, i expect, but not say anything about what it  
> was.
> "Nice weather" is far too abstract a notion for a system like this to be
> able to cope with. It requires the higher cognition parts of the brain.

I can't say I disagree with you here... my thought experiment is mainly a  
mental exercise.

It goes to the question of qualia that some of us find so intriguing. The  
observation "Nice weather" seems to require the conscious reflection on  
the experience of qualia. But the simple experience of qualia seems to  
happen first at some pre-conscious level, as in the case of the blind  
person who dodges an object coming at his face. I think most philosophers  
of the subject don't make this distinction.

Certain neurons must fire for us to have conscious reflection on our  
experience:

Specialized Neurons Allow The Brain To Focus On Novel Sounds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051202132313.htm

I think this does not mean qualia require, or are, the conscious awareness  
of qualia. This is why I believe even lower, presumably unconscious  
organisms like insects experience qualia.

-gts