[extropy-chat] Qualia Bet.

John K Clark jonkc at att.net
Thu Nov 24 06:43:13 UTC 2005


"Brent Allsop" <allsop at extropy.org>

> Phenomenal properties are most definitely causal.

Then the Turing Test should work.

>It's just that the causal part, is the only part that traditional
> cause and effect observation can detect.

Ok let's talk about the non causal part, the part that you think is so
important. I'm going to repeat what I said before because you didn't respond
to it and I think it's an absolutely devastating criticism: If Natural
Selection can't see it how can Natural Selection select for it?

> I guess that you are [conscious] , for consistency and simplicity's sake

Consciousness is simple? I think you are talking gibberish. You admit you
have no theory of consciousness and if the Turing Test really is stupid as
you say then there is absolutely no reason to believe I'm any more conscious
than a rock. But of course in the real world you do believe I'm conscious,
you believe it very very strongly, you believe it as strongly as you believe
anything in the world.

Well OK, that's not entirely true, you only believe it when I'm awake
because I ACT THAT WAY, you don't believe that I'm conscious when I'm asleep
or knocked out or dead because I ACT THAT WAY.

So is the Turing Test really stupid? I think not.

   John K Clark











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