[ExI] Wernicke's aphasia and the CRA.

The Avantguardian avantguardian2020 at yahoo.com
Sat Dec 12 12:52:04 UTC 2009


----- Original Message ----
> From: Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp at gmail.com>
> To: gordon.swobe at yahoo.com; ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
> Sent: Thu, December 10, 2009 9:10:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [ExI] Wernicke's aphasia and the CRA.

> No, I mean that if you replace the brain a neuron at a time by
> electronic analogues that function the same, i.e. same output for same
> input so that the neurons yet to be replaced respond in the same way,
> then the resulting brain will not only display the same behaviour but
> will also have the same consciousness. Searle considers the neural
> replacement scenario and declares that the brain will behave the same
> outwardly but will have a different consciousness. The aforementioned
> paper by Chalmers shows why this is impossible.

I don't think we understand the functioning of neurons enough to buy either Searle or Chalmer's argument. Your neuron by neuron brain replacement assumes that neurons are functionally degenerate. That one neuron is equivalent to any other. By the logic of this thought experiment, if you were to replace your neurons one by one with Gordon's neurons, at the end you would still be you. But you could just as easily become Gordon or at least Gordon-esque. At least that's what I take from the neuroscience experiment described in this Time article:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986057,00.html

Of course how much of Stathis, or Gordon for that matter, is a learned trait as opposed to a hardwired one is a matter for debate. But still, it gives you food for thought.


Stuart LaForge 


"Science has not yet mastered prophecy. We predict too much for the next year and yet far too little for the next ten." - Neil Armstrong


      



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