Richard Loosemore wrote: > Harry Chesley wrote: >> Richard Loosemore wrote: >>> I completed the first draft of a technical paper on consciousness >>> the other day. It is intended for the AGI-09 conference, and it >>> can be found at: >>> >>> http://susaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/draft_consciousness_rpwl.pdf >>> >> >> One other point: Although this is a possible explanation for our >> subjective experience of qualia like "red" or "soft," I don't see >> it explaining "pain" or "happy" quite so easily. You can >> hypothesize a sort of mechanism-level explanation of those by >> relegating them to the older or "lower" parts of the brain (i.e., >> they're atomic at the conscious level, but have more effects at the >> physiological level (like releasing chemicals into the system)), >> but that doesn't satisfactorily cover the subjective side for me. > > I do have a quick answer to that one. > > Remember that the core of the model is the *scope* of the analysis > mechanism. If there is a sharp boundary (as well there might be), > then this defines the point where the qualia kick in. Pain receptors > are fairly easy: they are primitive signal lines. Emotions are, I > believe, caused by clusters of lower brain structures, so the > interface between "lower brain" and "foreground" is the place where > the foreground sees a limit to the analysis mechanisms. > > More generally, the significance of the "foreground" is that it sets > a boundary on how far the analysis mechanisms can reach. > > I am not sure why that would seem less satisfactory as an explanation > of the subjectivity. It is a "raw feel", and that is the key idea, > no?
My problem is if qualia are atomic, with no differentiable details, why do some "feel" different than others -- shouldn't they all be separate but equal? "Red" is relatively neutral, while "searing hot" is not. Part of that is certainly lower brain function, below the level of consciousness, but that doesn't explain to me why it "feels" qualitatively different. If it was just something like increased activity (franticness) in response to "searing hot," then fine, that could just be something like adrenaline being pumped into the system, but there is a subjective feeling that goes beyond that. ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=120640061-aded06 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
