Opening this conversation up. What do you think (if anything) would happen to us behaviorally if the consciousness knob got turned down to zero? Would we be fully functional 'zombies'? In other words, is consciousness epiphenomenal, or does it play a causal role in our behavior?https://twitter.com/cognazor/status/1092649900725149697 …
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Replying to @cognazor
The question seems confused. What do you mean by consciousness? How would one go about turning the knob down?
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Replying to @imhinesmi
It's a thought experiment by
@nathan_k in order to make the argument that consciousness is a byproduct of evolution, but not strictly necessary in a behavioral sense (e.g., the organism feels heat and via chemical reaction moves hand away, but qualia isn't necessary)1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes -
Okay then,
@nathan_k, what do you mean by "consciousness"? My impression is that consciousness is what the biochemical processes feel like as they operate. We are the algorithm. Reducing consciousness -> stopping the algorithm, or moving to a different one.2 replies 0 retweets 4 likes -
Replying to @imhinesmi @cognazor
I'm using "consciousness" the way Thomas Nagel uses it. He would say, "it is like something to be me". Whatever you would lose if you traded places with a rock (presumably, lol)
2 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
You'd lose all your behaviors if you switched with a rock! Let me try to dig deeper here. How does consciousness relate to other parts of the mind, such as: -Memory? -Emotions? -Planning/Logic? -Models of reality?
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