X-Message-Number: 11783
Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 16:12:41 -0400
From: Brook Norton <>
Subject: consciousness and evolution

Daniel Crevier says  

>If you believe that all of this can happen without consciousness, you are
forced to admit that consciousness is what philosophers call an
'epiphenomenon'. It is something that is generated by the physical  world,
but has no effect whatsoever on it. If you believe that,  you must also
believe that to generate true consciousness you need, above and beyond the
machinery that  generates the mere appearances of consciousness,
additional mechanisms. Robert Ettinger thinks you need something that
'binds time and space'. Whatever that means, it does no sound like
something simple to do.  

The paradox is this one: we are products of natural evolution, and evo-
lution is parsimonious. It does not do anything without a reason. If those
complex mechanisms required to bind space and time do not provide any
evolutionary advantage, why do we have them?  

Daniel Crevier<  

Biological brains require consciousness as part of the data processing
engine.  An emulation of a brain uses various circuitry to achieve the
same data processing without the need for consciousness.  They are two
different ways to skin a cat.  Neither way carries any extra baggage
beyond that necessary to do the data processing.  

Brook Norton  

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