Book 92 - Daniel Dennett "Sweet Dreams"

[jazzy_dave]

Daniel Dennett "Sweet Dreams : Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness (MIT Press)

This book is essentially a follow-up to the author's previous work Consciousness Explained, which i have not read, as yet.

Apparently, Dennett revises and builds upon the ideas he put forward in that book, and addresses some of the criticism that has been leveled against his theory of consciousness in the intervening years. He also reviews some of the development (or lack thereof!) in the study of and debate over the question of consciousness over the past few years.

As always, Daniel Dennett presents his ideas with great precision and eloquence. No other writer I have read does a better job of shedding light on the question of consciousness. As the author repeatedly cautions, much work remains to be done before we have a full understanding of how human consciousness works. But Dennett rejects the "Mysterian" view that consciousness is something special which by its very nature we can never obtain an understanding of using the scientific method. He puts forward a methodology for the systematic study of consciousness, and shows persuasively that it is a phenomenon just as open to scientific inquiry as any other biological function. One of the major themes in this book is the idea of "zombies", the subject of an old philosophical thought-experiment. The zombie is a creature indistinguishable from normal people but which has no internal mental life, no consciousness. As Dennett says he addresses the question of zombies reluctantly since it has been the source of so much confusion. He shows very clearly how the concept has little use in clarifying the question of consciousness. He also addresses the inevitable question of artificial intelligence and whether it is possible for "mere machines" to be consciousness. The answer turns out to be yes, since those conscious machines are us!

Comments

[kabuldur.livejournal.com]

It may be possible for machines to be conscious. The way I would think of consciousness is to have the awareness that we are conscious (awake) and that we have thoughts. And to have thoughts we have to have language. In uni we grokked on the artificial memories that some cyborgs in a movie had and asked, 'What is it to be human?' I don't think zombies add to the discussion since they are made from our imaginations - with the exception of people in the south of North America (or is that South America?) who are artificially put into the zombie state with traditional drugs and this is mainly as a punishment for them or perhaps for spiritual development or to find the answer to a question if they are shamans. The drugs make it hard for them to function at all. They may or may not be conscious or only partly conscious. To try to walk around under the influence of these poisons would be a hard thing to do! Or are they sleep walking? In which case they may have no recall of moving whilst under the influence of these traditional drugs. The brain would be partly working or working under duress. That would be another definition of consciousness - that the brain is functioning. Therefore, if we could build an artificial brain, we might be able to make it conscious - or would we have to give it the spark of life like Frankenstein did in Mary Shelley's book? (And in the films where it is a pivotal moment ever more hyped in each new version.) Consciousness may very well be a physical thing. Scientists have now determined that we dream not only in REM sleep, but also in deep sleep and lighter states of sleep where we are almost conscious, and some of us can manipulate our dreams (ie have lucid dreams). And a scary thing: a Goth that I know find similarities between zombies and the victims of the ebola virus! Somebody very sick with that would indeed act much like a zombie.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

Makes me head spin. :o
Hugs, Jon

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you need this icon.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Works for me. :p

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

*HUGS*

[st-martin-a.livejournal.com]

I'm looking at this topic with my A level students at the moment. Fascinating topic. Have you seen the movie 'Her'?
It's set in the future and it's about a guy who falls in love with his interactive operating system. It's quite thought-provoking.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

I have not seen this movie. Sounds fascinating though.