On 7/8/2013 11:54 AM, Dicebot wrote:
On Monday, 8 July 2013 at 18:37:30 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
If you consider that our brains evolved, and self-awareness was a result of
evolution, then self-awareness presumably offers some sort of survival benefit.
Following that line of reasoning, self-awareness becomes a real phenomenon
with a scientific basis.
I do not consider that self-awareness is result of an evolution. I am not even
sure it actually exists. It is a very abstract term with no clear meaning, using
it just obfuscates the idea.
Just because we have difficulty defining something is not a reason to dismiss it
as irrelevant or non-existent.
I'm sure you're self-aware, as I'm sure Siri and Watson are not.
It's like somewhere between a fertilized egg and your current form you became a
person. Just because we are unable to definitively point to the moment when you
became one, doesn't mean you didn't become one, nor does it mean that personhood
is not a very useful and meaningful construct.
