[extropy-chat] qualia

[gts]

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 14:57:19 -0500, Jeff Davis <jrd1415 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Herein lies my problem with "qualia",...and with
> religion.  When the universe presents you with
> something about which you have many unanswered
> questions, the correct answer to any of those
> questions should be "I don't know." (Or perhaps, "I
> don't know,...yet.")  Not "qualia" or "God".

I don't see the "qualia" and "God" concepts as in the same category here.  
Few people claim to have seen God but almost everyone will acknowledge  
seeing qualia. Qualia are the object of our inquiry here, not an answer to  
it.

Religion/God/Mysticism/Cartesian-Dualism is one answer to the question of  
qualia, but one that most extropians and transhumanists would probably  
prefer to reject. The need for divine intervention would make the  
extropian dream of strong AI enormously more difficult and intimidating.  
How would we persuade or force God to inject souls into our machines?

> Humans, especially clever humans, have an aversion to "I don't
> know."

Especially true for philosophers and scientists. Good thing, that!

-gts