From: Matt Mahoney (matmahoney@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Aug 19 2007 - 18:04:04 MDT
--- Eric Rauch <erauch@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 8/19/07, Randall Randall <randall@randallsquared.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > On Aug 19, 2007, at 2:11 PM, Matt Mahoney wrote:
> > > Consciousness is very hard to
> > > define rigorously, but everyone knows what it is. It is what
> > > distinguishes
> > > this universe from a hypothetical atom-for-atom identical universe
> > > that exists
> > > beyond the awareness of any person, including your copy that lives
> > > your life,
> > > following its neurally programmed instructions, deterministically
> > > making the
> > > exact same sequence of decisions that you make.
> >
> > Ah, like a substance which is chemically water, with the
> > same atoms in the same positions as water, but which is
> > not wet at 30C?
>
>
> EXACTLY! Water that lacks the imutable quality of wetness, a quality with
> no physical basis that can only be seen in isolation in the spirit world.
I mean consciousness as that which distinguishes people from philosophical
zombies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_zombie
-- Matt Mahoney, matmahoney@yahoo.com
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