As I recall, there are studies showing successful operant conditioning of decorticate cats. Does this mean that the brain is not required for conscious experience (again, if we assume that the capacity to learn an operant response is the definition of consciousness)?
There is also the conditioning of planaria and I believe other _far_ lower animals, as well computer programs that show operant conditioning. I feel confident in saying these do not have consciousness.
Although I am a cognitive psychologist (and I am under no circumstances a
dualist), I am inclined to suggest the advice from Wittgenstein on this one: What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.
I disagree, on the basis that while we cannot give a definitive answer we can identify useful and nonuseful ways to think about the problem of consciousness, and we can provide descriptions of research results that bear on the issue (both of these just happened today in this thread). Whatever you think of behaviorism, it obviously exposed serious flaws in our commonsense way of thinking about consciousness, while cognitive psychology has really deepened our knowledge of what it is that we want to explain (those of us who are interested in consciousness, anyway).
The lay public's thinking about the issue is not very thoughtful or well-informed: I'll bet we'd all be appalled at the results if we were to ask those protesters (or our Representatives...) to devise a test for consciousness. That's the status quo to be maintained if we "pass over in silence" until we have a definitive answer.
Paul Smith Alverno College Milwaukee
--- You are currently subscribed to tips as: archive@jab.org To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
