On 6/28/2023 11:15 AM, Jason Resch wrote:
On Sun, Jun 25, 2023 at 4:12 PM Brent Meeker <meekerbr...@gmail.com>
wrote:
I think sentient includes consciousness, but is broader including
perception and feelings. Does it include self-reflection? empathy?
Great article, thanks for sharing. I also enjoyed the one which this
article was about:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-insects-feel-joy-and-pain/
As for definitions, some use sentience to mean the capacity to feel,
while others lump in self-awareness with sentience. I think the former
is more standard and in line with the original meaning.
As for which word is more inclusive, I think consciousness can in some
respects be considered the most general and inclusive word, its
meaning being simply "having knowledge". Since the knowledge can
concern anything (including things besides knowledge of one's feelings
or perceptions), then the word "consciousness" is the broadest.
Sentience would be a subset of consciousness, and self-awareness,
self-reflection, emotions, and empathy would be subclasses of
possible conscious states.
Jason
Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but I attach "consciousness" to
the narrow thoughts as in "Are you conscious of that?" "Did you
consciously choose that?" That top level "stream" of perceptions,
narrative, imagination,...
And this inner narrative apparently leaves out so much, which is then
attributed to the subconscious, which does a lot of the work of
thinking. And not only muscle memory of driving your car on a familiar
commute, but also real creativity like the effect named for Poincare
when he described how the solution to a mathematical proof came to him
suddenly as he was stepping onto a bus. A problem he had not thought
about /*consciously*/ for weeks.
At the other extreme is "unconscious" as anesthetized, where apparently
all levels of thought are gone...or is it just not-remembered?
Brent
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