>>>>>>>>>> Vladimir Nesov [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote
I don't currently see something mysterious in qualia: it is one of those cases where a debate about phenomenon is much more complicated than phenomenon itself. Just as 'free will' is just a way self-watching control system operates, considering possible future moves, your experience of qualia is your memory or reactive response to processes ongoing in your brain. How do *you* know that you experience qualia? Understanding qualia requires no more than understanding the causes and contents of your memory and behavior when you are in 'qualia-experiencing' situations, and the way such memory is reflected upon by yourself. I think demystifying such philosophical bubbles (at least for one's own intuition) is important for clearer thinking about AGI. <<<<<<<<<<<<<< I already mentioned that qualia is part of the mind and therefore this must correspond to nothing else than a physical process. But the fact that there are perceptions with qualia and unconscious perceptions (and self watching control) without qualia shows that this is not so easy. If we imagine a brain scanner with perfect resolution of space and time then we get every information of the brain including the phenomenon of qualia. But we will not be able to understand it. This can be shown by my argumentation about necessary self reference in any explanation of qualia. Observing the process in every detail (with brain scanner) does not imply the we can find a model of what constitutes the phenomenon of qualia. For example take the phenomenon of time. If you see a moving watch hand this is a clearly indicator that time goes by. And on the other hand whenever time goes by the watch hand must move (if the watch works). So the movement of the watch hand is a necessary and sufficient condition that corresponds to time. You even may DEFINE time with the movement of the watch hand. But this does not explain what time is. Time could be in a certain sense as fundamental as qualia. It is an axiom of the mind. And axioms cannot be explained. It will be similar to qualia. We will look deep into the brain at all levels and we will see that there are processes which are necessary and sufficient to correspond with the existence of qualia in the person's mind. I do not know how complex these processes are. I think, they are far more complex than self watching control. But this does not matter. Even if we can describe the process in detail by laws of physics we will not be able to explain what qualia really is. And we will have difficulties to decide whether an artificial brain with different algorithms has qualia or not. ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: http://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=101455710-f059c4 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
