[ExI] [Exl] Digital Consciousness

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 03/05/2013, at 5:58 PM, Gordon <gts_2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> 
> 
> 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.

Even if the rules are probabilistic they are rigid and mechanistic. For example, radioactive decay is truly random but is described by simple and completely rigid equations.

> > 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.

You haven't answered the question. Where does the semantics in the brain come from, and why is the matter in the brain specially privileged?
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