<div dir="auto"><div>Hi Adrian,</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Thanks for replying.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote" dir="auto"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Aug 25, 2023, 2:55 PM Adrian Tymes via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Consciousness might include conditionalism, but would it not also include the ability to formulate new conditionals and evaluate whether they match perceived reality? I do not see that capability within your definition of conditionalism.</div></blockquote></div></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I see the divide between those things as the divide between the mind (as an adaptive, learning, process over time) vs. any single "thought-moment" (a single self-isolated state of consciousness).</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">To the mind I would ascribe the formulation of new states of consciousness, but any particular state of consciousness (under conditionalism) is that knowledge state embodied by a conditional relation.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">For the mind to make the decisions, that is, to act on environmental or internal information, it must use conditionals, and these conditional states are (what I propose) what create/invoke/are the knowledge states that we associate with consciousness.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Jason </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Aug 25, 2023 at 10:49 AM Jason Resch via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto">I would like to propose a theory of consciousness which I think might have some merit, but more importantly I would like to see what criticism others might have for it.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I have chosen the name "conditionalism" for this theory, as it is based loosely on the notion of conditional statements as they appear in both regular language, mathematics, and programming languages.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">At a high level, states of consciousness are states of knowledge, and knowledge is embodied by the existence of some relation to some truth.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">A conditional is a means by which a system can enter/reach a state of knowledge (i.e. a state of consciousness) if and only if some fact is true. A simple example using a programming language:</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">if (x >= 5) then {</div><div dir="auto"> // knowledge state of x being greater than or equal to 5</div><div dir="auto">}</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I think this way of considering consciousness, as that existing between those two braces: { } can explain a lot.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">1. Consciousness is revealed as an immaterial, ephemeral relation, not any particular physical thing we can point at or hold.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">2. It provides for a straight-forward way to bind complex states of consciousness, though conjunction, for example:</div><div dir="auto">If (a and b) {</div><div dir="auto"> // knowledge of the simultaneous truth of both a and b</div><div dir="auto">}</div><div dir="auto">This allows states of consciousness to be arbitrarily complex and varied.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">3. It explains the causal efficacy of states of consciousness. All we need to do is link some action to a state of knowledge. Consciousness is then seen as antecedent to, and a prerequisite for, any intelligent behavior. For example:</div><div dir="auto">If (light == color.red) {</div><div dir="auto"> slowDown();</div><div dir="auto">}</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">4. It shows the close relationship between consciousness and information, where information is defined as "a difference that makes a difference", as conditionals are all about what differences make which differences.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">5. It shows a close relationship between consciousness and computationalism, since computations are all about counterfactual and conditional relations.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">6. It is also supportive of functionalism and it's multiple realizability, as there are many possibile physical arrangements that lead to conditionals.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">7. It's clear there neural networks firings is all about conditionals and combining them in whether or not a neuron will fire and which other neurons have fired binds up many conditional relations into one larger one.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">8. It seems no intelligent (reactive, deliberative, contemplative, reflective, etc.) process can be made that does not contain at least some conditionals. As without them, there can be no responsiveness. This explains the biological necessity to evolve conditionals and apply them in the guidance of behavior. In other words, consciousness (states of knowledge) would be strictly necessary for intelligence to evolve.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Jason </div></div>
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