[ExI] [Exl] Digital Consciousness

[Gordon]

________________________________
 Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp at gmail.com> wrote:

> The matter in the brain follows rigid, mechanistic rules. 

So many believe. This question is more about the arguments for and against free will.

> The same rules that the matter in computers follows. You claim that mind comes
> out of the matter in the brain, but it is impossible for mind to come
> out of the matter in a computer. How can you be so sure about this?

I've mentioned at least a couple of my reasons:

1) Semantics is not intrinsic to syntax. There is no conceivable way that a digital computer running software could know the meanings of the symbols it manipulates.


2) Even if 1) is false; that is, even if the human brain/mind could be modeled as a digital computer that manipulates symbols in such a way it has conscious experience (semantics), there is no real syntax in the brain. We assign it to the physics. We're only imagining it.

Gordon
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