[ExI] Semiotics and Computability

[Gordon Swobe]

--- On Sun, 2/7/10, Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp at gmail.com> wrote:

>> The amoeba has no neurons or nervous system, Stathis,
>> so "less conscious" is an understatement. It has no
>> consciousness at all.
> 
> As far as you're concerned the function of the nervous
> system - intelligence - which is due to the interactions between
> neurons bears no essential relationship to consciousness. 

As I define intelligence, some of it is encoded into DNA. Every organism has some intelligence including the lowly amoeba. This hapless creature has enough intelligence to find food and replicate but it has no idea of its own existence.

> You believe that consciousness is a property of certain specialised 
> cells.

Yes. And I think you most likely believe so also, except when you have reason to argue for the imaginary mental states of amoebas to support your theory about the imaginary mental states of computers. :)

We can suppose theories of alien forms of consciousness that might exist in computers and in amoebas and in other entities that lack nervous systems, as you seem wont to do, but it seems to me that there we cross over the line from science to science-fiction.

-gts