Historically, one of the toughest nuts to crack in both philosophy and science has been the so-called “hard problem of consciousness”:
How is it possible for the hard-wiring of our brain to produce inner perception, sentient experience, and self-awareness?
It’s a much more difficult conundrum to solve than one might expect upon first glance.
Because science is inherently objective, while consciousness is subjective, it has been very difficult for experts working from both sides of the divide to bridge this gap – to explain the precise mechanisms of conscious experience.
Join us in exploring the mysterious relationship between the brain and conscious experience.
Why the "hard" problem of consciousness is easy and the "easy" problem hard....Aaron Sloman
The "hard" problem of concsiousness can be shown to be a non-problem because it is formulated using a seriously defective concept (the concept of "phenomenal consciousness" defined so as to rule out cognitive functionality and causal powers).
So the hard problem is an example of a well known type of philosophical problem that needs to be dissolved (fairly easily) rather than solved. For other examples, and a brief introduction to conceptual analysis, see http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/research/projects/cogaff/misc/varieties-of-atheism.html
In contrast, the so-called "easy" problem requires detailed analysis of very complex and subtle features of perceptual processes, introspective processes and other mental processes, sometimes labelled "access consciousness": these have cognitive functions, but their complexity (especially the way details change as the environment changes or the perceiver moves) is considerable and very hard to characterise.
"Access consciousness" is complex also because it takes many different forms, since what individuals are conscious of and what uses being conscious of things can be put to, can vary hugely, from simple life forms, through many other animals and human infants, to sophisticated adult humans,
Finding ways of modelling these aspects of consciousness, and explaining how they arise out of physical mechanisms, requires major advances in the science of information processing systems -- including computer science and neuroscience.
There are empirical facts about introspection that have generated theories of consciousness but some of the empirical facts go unnoticed by philosophers.
The notion of a virtual machine is introduced briefly and illustrated using Conway's "Game of life" and other examples of virtual machinery that explain how contents of consciousness can have causal powers and can have intentionality (be able to refer to other things).
The beginnings of a research program are presented, showing how more examples can be collected and how notions of virtual machinery may need to be developed to cope with all the phenomena.
Why the "hard" problem of consciousness is easy and the "easy" problem hard....Aaron Sloman
The "hard" problem of concsiousness can be shown to be a non-problem because it is formulated using a seriously defective concept (the concept of "phenomenal consciousness" defined so as to rule out cognitive functionality and causal powers).
So the hard problem is an example of a well known type of philosophical problem that needs to be dissolved (fairly easily) rather than solved. For other examples, and a brief introduction to conceptual analysis, see http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/research/projects/cogaff/misc/varieties-of-atheism.html
In contrast, the so-called "easy" problem requires detailed analysis of very complex and subtle features of perceptual processes, introspective processes and other mental processes, sometimes labelled "access consciousness": these have cognitive functions, but their complexity (especially the way details change as the environment changes or the perceiver moves) is considerable and very hard to characterise.
"Access consciousness" is complex also because it takes many different forms, since what individuals are conscious of and what uses being conscious of things can be put to, can vary hugely, from simple life forms, through many other animals and human infants, to sophisticated adult humans,
Finding ways of modelling these aspects of consciousness, and explaining how they arise out of physical mechanisms, requires major advances in the science of information processing systems -- including computer science and neuroscience.
There are empirical facts about introspection that have generated theories of consciousness but some of the empirical facts go unnoticed by philosophers.
The notion of a virtual machine is introduced briefly and illustrated using Conway's "Game of life" and other examples of virtual machinery that explain how contents of consciousness can have causal powers and can have intentionality (be able to refer to other things).
The beginnings of a research program are presented, showing how more examples can be collected and how notions of virtual machinery may need to be developed to cope with all the phenomena.
Thinking about Thought - Theories of Brain Mind Consciusness - Part 1: Philosophy of Mind & Cognitive Psychology. I keep updating these slides at http://www.scaruffi.com/ucb.html
These are slides that accompanied a live webinar discussion with the Youth Theology Network leaders, who are pondering how to transform their summer programs in a time of physical distancing.
Thinking about Thought - Theories of Brain Mind Consciusness - Part 1: Philosophy of Mind & Cognitive Psychology. I keep updating these slides at http://www.scaruffi.com/ucb.html
These are slides that accompanied a live webinar discussion with the Youth Theology Network leaders, who are pondering how to transform their summer programs in a time of physical distancing.
The neuropsychology of the mystery shoppingDavid Camps
Talk done on the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. European Annual Meeting in Sardinia, May´12. Focusing on Neuropsychological aspects of the Mystery Shopping. What influences you when evaluating others and places.
In this world it is easy to slip into a path that answers "X or Y." In fact, we live in a complex world where the shades of gray are even more available due to the network of people and ideas accessible via the web - including through our blogs. Audio can be found <a href="http://northernvoice.podcastspot.com/episodes/3D2E4C">here</a>
Helping Darwin: How to think about evolution of consciousness (Biosciences ta...Aaron Sloman
ABSTRACT
Many of Darwin's opponents, and some of those who accepted the theory of evolution as regards physical forms, objected to the claim that human mental functions, and
consciousness in particular, could be products of evolution. There were several reasons for this opposition, including unanswered questions as to how physical mechanisms could produce mental states and processes an old, and still surviving, philosophical problem.
A new answer is now available. Evolution could have produced the "mysterious" aspects of consciousness if, like engineers developing computing systems in the last six or seven decades, evolution encountered and "solved" increasingly complex problems of representation and control (including self-monitoring and self-control) by using systems with increasingly abstract mechanisms based on virtual machines, including most
recently self-monitoring virtual machines.
These capabilities are, like many capabilities of computer-based systems, implemented in non-physical virtual machinery which, in turn, are implemented in lower level physical mechanisms.
This would require far more complex virtual machines than human engineers have so far created. Noone knows whether the biological virtual machines could have been
implemented in the discrete-switch technology used in current computers.
These ideas were not available to Darwin and his contemporaries: most of the concepts, and the technology, involved in creation and use of sophisticated virtual machines were developed only in the last half century, as a by-product of a large number of design decisions by hardware and software engineers solving different problems.
How do you balance life, family, work and an entrepreneurial spirit? An opportunity for women to discover the power of their personal story for shaping a unique business. Women will learn to reflect on how life challenges can be shaped to empower their future and to envision a holistic lifestyle balancing self, family, career and community. Women interested in participating in this workshop should apply here: http://tinyurl.com/7t5js75
ESR spectroscopy in liquid food and beverages.pptxPRIYANKA PATEL
With increasing population, people need to rely on packaged food stuffs. Packaging of food materials requires the preservation of food. There are various methods for the treatment of food to preserve them and irradiation treatment of food is one of them. It is the most common and the most harmless method for the food preservation as it does not alter the necessary micronutrients of food materials. Although irradiated food doesn’t cause any harm to the human health but still the quality assessment of food is required to provide consumers with necessary information about the food. ESR spectroscopy is the most sophisticated way to investigate the quality of the food and the free radicals induced during the processing of the food. ESR spin trapping technique is useful for the detection of highly unstable radicals in the food. The antioxidant capability of liquid food and beverages in mainly performed by spin trapping technique.
Observation of Io’s Resurfacing via Plume Deposition Using Ground-based Adapt...Sérgio Sacani
Since volcanic activity was first discovered on Io from Voyager images in 1979, changes
on Io’s surface have been monitored from both spacecraft and ground-based telescopes.
Here, we present the highest spatial resolution images of Io ever obtained from a groundbased telescope. These images, acquired by the SHARK-VIS instrument on the Large
Binocular Telescope, show evidence of a major resurfacing event on Io’s trailing hemisphere. When compared to the most recent spacecraft images, the SHARK-VIS images
show that a plume deposit from a powerful eruption at Pillan Patera has covered part
of the long-lived Pele plume deposit. Although this type of resurfacing event may be common on Io, few have been detected due to the rarity of spacecraft visits and the previously low spatial resolution available from Earth-based telescopes. The SHARK-VIS instrument ushers in a new era of high resolution imaging of Io’s surface using adaptive
optics at visible wavelengths.
ANAMOLOUS SECONDARY GROWTH IN DICOT ROOTS.pptxRASHMI M G
Abnormal or anomalous secondary growth in plants. It defines secondary growth as an increase in plant girth due to vascular cambium or cork cambium. Anomalous secondary growth does not follow the normal pattern of a single vascular cambium producing xylem internally and phloem externally.
Toxic effects of heavy metals : Lead and Arsenicsanjana502982
Heavy metals are naturally occuring metallic chemical elements that have relatively high density, and are toxic at even low concentrations. All toxic metals are termed as heavy metals irrespective of their atomic mass and density, eg. arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, thallium, chromium, etc.
The Evolution of Science Education PraxiLabs’ Vision- Presentation (2).pdfmediapraxi
The rise of virtual labs has been a key tool in universities and schools, enhancing active learning and student engagement.
💥 Let’s dive into the future of science and shed light on PraxiLabs’ crucial role in transforming this field!
BREEDING METHODS FOR DISEASE RESISTANCE.pptxRASHMI M G
Plant breeding for disease resistance is a strategy to reduce crop losses caused by disease. Plants have an innate immune system that allows them to recognize pathogens and provide resistance. However, breeding for long-lasting resistance often involves combining multiple resistance genes
Nucleophilic Addition of carbonyl compounds.pptxSSR02
Nucleophilic addition is the most important reaction of carbonyls. Not just aldehydes and ketones, but also carboxylic acid derivatives in general.
Carbonyls undergo addition reactions with a large range of nucleophiles.
Comparing the relative basicity of the nucleophile and the product is extremely helpful in determining how reversible the addition reaction is. Reactions with Grignards and hydrides are irreversible. Reactions with weak bases like halides and carboxylates generally don’t happen.
Electronic effects (inductive effects, electron donation) have a large impact on reactivity.
Large groups adjacent to the carbonyl will slow the rate of reaction.
Neutral nucleophiles can also add to carbonyls, although their additions are generally slower and more reversible. Acid catalysis is sometimes employed to increase the rate of addition.
Comparing Evolved Extractive Text Summary Scores of Bidirectional Encoder Rep...University of Maribor
Slides from:
11th International Conference on Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering (IcETRAN), Niš, 3-6 June 2024
Track: Artificial Intelligence
https://www.etran.rs/2024/en/home-english/
Phenomics assisted breeding in crop improvementIshaGoswami9
As the population is increasing and will reach about 9 billion upto 2050. Also due to climate change, it is difficult to meet the food requirement of such a large population. Facing the challenges presented by resource shortages, climate
change, and increasing global population, crop yield and quality need to be improved in a sustainable way over the coming decades. Genetic improvement by breeding is the best way to increase crop productivity. With the rapid progression of functional
genomics, an increasing number of crop genomes have been sequenced and dozens of genes influencing key agronomic traits have been identified. However, current genome sequence information has not been adequately exploited for understanding
the complex characteristics of multiple gene, owing to a lack of crop phenotypic data. Efficient, automatic, and accurate technologies and platforms that can capture phenotypic data that can
be linked to genomics information for crop improvement at all growth stages have become as important as genotyping. Thus,
high-throughput phenotyping has become the major bottleneck restricting crop breeding. Plant phenomics has been defined as the high-throughput, accurate acquisition and analysis of multi-dimensional phenotypes
during crop growing stages at the organism level, including the cell, tissue, organ, individual plant, plot, and field levels. With the rapid development of novel sensors, imaging technology,
and analysis methods, numerous infrastructure platforms have been developed for phenotyping.
hematic appreciation test is a psychological assessment tool used to measure an individual's appreciation and understanding of specific themes or topics. This test helps to evaluate an individual's ability to connect different ideas and concepts within a given theme, as well as their overall comprehension and interpretation skills. The results of the test can provide valuable insights into an individual's cognitive abilities, creativity, and critical thinking skills
20240520 Planning a Circuit Simulator in JavaScript.pptx
Hard Problem of Consciousness
1. A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Nikki Johnson, Founder of Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com.
> Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
“THE HARD PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS”
[Image Source: Freepik]
2. TONIGHT’S MIND-BLOWING DISCUSSION TOPIC
• “The Hard Problem of Consciousness”
o The massive difficulty encountered in
attempting to explain the relationship between:
• Subjectively felt experiences
such as perception, sentience, and self-awareness
• The hard-wiring of the brain,
which somehow enables these experiences to be felt
o Featured TED Video:
• David Chalmers
o How Do You Explain Consciousness?
o https://youtu.be/uhRhtFFhNzQ
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: The Partially Examined Life]
3. BRIEF BACKGROUND ON THE PRESENTER
• Nikki Johnson
o Lifelong writer, formerly based in marketing
• Twelve years ago, I began to realize:
o “Gosh, there’s got to be more to life
than simply making a buck and spending it….”
o Traveled across 40 countries on six continents
• Toured numerous museums and cultural sites
• Plunged deep into diverse nonfiction domains
o Philosophy
o Comparative religious studies / spirituality
o Psychology
o Science
o Etc.
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
4. INTENSIVE PERIOD OF SELF-DRIVEN INQUIRY
• Earnestly have been exploring
life’s deepest questions
for more than a decade,
on a restless self-driven basis
o Who are we?
o Why are we here?
o What is the true nature of reality?
o How can we use this initially
counterintuitive information
to enhance our experience
of life on this plane?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
5. PRESENT PROJECT
• Currently writing a book with a holistic focus
o The Internal Process of Enlightenment:
Bridging Spirituality and Science
• Traces the process that occurs within the human body
to trigger the subjective experience of enlightenment
o Physical side
• Specific parts of the brain and spinal cord involved
o Metaphysical side
• Role of chakras, nadis, etc.
• Does not attempt to “prove the case for the existence of enlightenment”
o Simply highlights strong correlations between:
• Objective anatomical information
• Subjective descriptions from spiritual / philosophic / psychological traditions
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source:
KJPargeter - Freepik]
6. BACK TO TONIGHT’S TOPIC
• “The Hard Problem of Consciousness”
o Today, philosophers and scientists
actually face a very similar situation in trying
to dissect consciousness from end to end
• Correlations can certainly be drawn between:
o Physical / objectively observed brain features
and patterns
• The hard-wiring of the brain parts involved
o Non-physical / subjectively perceived experiences
• The felt experiences that can be described
• However, a gap inevitably seems to remain
• Preventing us from fully understanding why
these felt experiences are generated as they are
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: Good Studio –
CreativeMarket.com]
[Image Source: VectorStock.com]
7. ILLUSTRATIVE ANALOGY
• Personally, this situation reminds me of The Creation of Adam
o The famous fresco painting by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling
• These objective / subjective aspects closely mirror each another …
and yet never quite touch….
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
Think of
God here as a
representation of
CONSCIOUSNESS
(i.e., Subjectively
Perceived
Experiences)
Think of
Adam here as a
representation of
THE BRAIN
(i.e., Objectively
Observed
Features of the
Human Body)
8. EXPLANATORY GAP
• American philosopher Joseph Levine generated a fitting name
to describe this issue
o In his now-classic paper, written in 1983, he termed it “the explanatory gap”
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
THE BRAIN
(i.e., Objectively
Observed
Features
of the
Human Body)
CONSCIOUSNESS
(i.e., Subjectively
Perceived
Experiences)
THE EXPLANATORY GAP
9. “THE HARD PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS”
• David Chalmers was the first to use
this phrase to describe the problem in 1995
o He also perhaps explains
the crux of the issue best,
as we heard in the TED Talk
recommended for tonight:
• SCIENCE, by its nature, is OBJECTIVE.
• CONSCIOUSNESS, by its nature, is SUBJECTIVE.
o Thus, some people say that a
SCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS
is simply IMPOSSIBLE.
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: ScottBarryKaufman.com]
[Image Source: TheReadingWorkshop.com]
10. “THE EASY PROBLEMS OF CONSCIOUSNESS”
• There are no truly easy problems with consciousness,
but – on a relative scale – some are simpler than others
o “THE EASY PROBLEMS”
• Finding “neural correlates of consciousness”
• Identifying specific systems in the brain with activity that
correlates directly with states of conscious experience
• Explaining the ability to apply information to thinking
and behavior, integrate perceptions, etc.
o “THE HARD PROBLEM”
o Figuring out why consciousness feels the way it does
o Why bother with the elaborate production of an inner movie?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: amazon.com]
[Image Source: granitegrok.com]
11. MUCH OLDER ROOTS
• While David Chalmers didn’t coin
“the hard problem of consciousness”
as an official phrase until the mid-1990s,
the issue itself is much older.
o Philosophers and scientists have actually
been wrestling with this basic conundrum
for centuries – under a different name:
• THE MIND-BODY PROBLEM
o Specifically, the Mind-Body Problem focused upon:
• The extent to which mind and body can be
considered separate or directly connected
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: Robert Fludd, 1619, Wikimedia]
12. RECOMMENDED READING
• One book that I highly recommend
as a source for historical background
on the Mind-Body Problem is:
o Introducing Consciousness: A Graphic Guide
• Authored by David Papineau,
and illustrated by Howard Selina
o amazon.com/dp/B00URQVM4U/
o One caveat:
• It does not cover the now-prevailing view –
Integrated Information Theory (IIT)
o This approach was not proposed
until after its publication date
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
13. DUALISM
• The mental and material are
two distinct yet interacting realms
o Pre-20th century philosophers
and scientists presumed that reality
included independent conscious minds,
separate from any material existence
• Rene Descartes – the progenitor of
modern philosophy – most famously
popularized this view
o Believed that conscious minds exist
on a separate, non-physical level
o Also identified the pineal gland as the “principal seat of the soul,”
the place where mind and matter interact, and the source of all of our thoughts
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: iterphilosophicum.wordpress.com]
14. MORE DUALISM
• Two main types of dualism
o Substance dualism
• Rene Descartes subscribed to this view,
considering mind and matter as
two separate substances that never mix,
though they do interact –
like oil and water
o Property dualism
• Modern dualists like Chalmers tend not
to see conscious minds as separate stuff –
split off entirely from the material body –
but view it as all part of a unified substance
with two distinct types of properties
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: schaabling.wordpress.com]
[Image Source: bakerbettie.com]
SUBSTANCE
DUALISM
ANALOGY
PROPERTY
DUALISM
ANALOGY
15. IDEALISM
• Reality essentially consists only of minds,
and the physical world is an illusion –
nothing more than mental creations
o As a prominent voice for skeptics of
Descartes’ dualism:
• George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne,
proposed in 1710 that all experiences are
just sensations and ideas – with no physical
objects “out there” prompting perceptions
o According to Berkeley, Georg Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, John Stuart Mill,
Edmund Husserl, Henri Bergson, Bertrand Russell, A.J. Ayer, and others,
there is no material world – only the realm of mental events
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: mynzahosiris.wordpress.com]
16. MATERIALISM
• Physical matter is the only form of reality,
and all things, processes, and phenomena
– including consciousness and mental states –
result from material interactions alone
o Two main forms:
• Eliminative materialism
• Subjective experiences do not exist,
and consciousness can be entirely explained
through sufficient understanding of neuroscience
• Reductive materialism
• While subjective experiences do exist, they are
indistinguishable from physical brain processes
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: myvmc.com]
[Image Source: thetrumpet.com]
17. • Various types have emerged from the two main branches
o The three most notable varieties:
• Methodological behaviorism
o Favored by psychologists, such as John B. Watson
and B.F. Skinner – insisting that psychological theories
should be based on observable stimuli and behavior
• Logical behaviorism
o Primarily a movement among philosophers, such as
Gilbert Ryle and Ludwig Wittgenstein – which made
stronger arguments than methodological behaviorism
• Functionalism
o Defining mental states by their functional role – rather
than their makeup – and allowing them to be internal
MORE MATERIALISM
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: utdallaseduseec.myturn.com]
[Image Source: cvdvt.org]
18. MYSTERIANISM
• Consciousness is just a complete mystery
from a human perspective
o Understanding of phenomenal consciousness
is quite simply beyond the grasp of
human comprehension
• Gottfried Leibniz, Samuel Johnson, Thomas Huxley,
Carl Jung, Roger Penrose, Thomas Nagel,
Owen Flanagan, Colin McGinn, and others
notably asserted this view
o May be a case similar to Kurt Gödel’s incompleteness theorems
• Gödel found there are some mathematical statements that are true, but
nevertheless cannot be proved – could the same story apply to consciousness?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: philosophytalk.org]
19. INDEFINABILITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
• Bottom line here: No objective, scientific definition
seems able to capture the full essence of consciousness
o Various definitions have been proposed, but none clinch its entirety
• “The state of being aware and
responsive to one’s surroundings.”
– Oxford Living Dictionary
• “Your subjective experience of
the mind and the world, which is one of
the fundamental facts of human existence.”
– David Chalmers
• “What goes away in the evening
when you go to sleep, and comes back
the next morning when you wake up.” – Giulio Tononi
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: neurotracker.net/]
20. QUALIA
• A key concept that is used to
describe consciousness is “qualia”
o Subjective or qualitative properties of experiences
• These are the raw “felt” qualities, such as:
• Sensations
• Emotions
• Thoughts
• Etc.
o Why are they so critical?
o All content of consciousness
is made up of qualia.
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: desmotivaciones.es][Image Source: vox.com]
21. THOMAS NAGEL: WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A BAT?
• In 1974, American philosopher Thomas Nagel posed a
question often cited in conceptualizing consciousness
o What is it like to be a bat?
• Bats rely on heavily on echo-location –
emitted bursts of high-pitch sound –
to determine the location of physical objects
o Nagel’s question:
What is it like for bats to sense by echo location?
• We have no way of knowing how a bat’s brain
presents this sensory information to it internally
o As sounds? As shapes? As some sort of “sonic texture”?
We have no way of knowing what it is like to be a bat.
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: slideshare.net/abbenay]
[Image Source: freaksmutantsandmonsters.com]
22. INTEGRATED INFORMATION THEORY (IIT)
• Currently prevailing theory to explain the nature
of consciousness and its association with certain
systems, proposed by Giulio Tononi in 2014
o Starts by accepting the existence of consciousness
as certain, based upon our own direct experience of it
o Identifies the essential properties of consciousness
o Infers the properties of physical systems that account
for these essential properties of consciousness
o Determines – for any given system – whether it has
consciousness and to what degree, based on complexity
o Makes testable predictions
o Permits inferences and extrapolations
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: semanticscholar.org]
23. AXIOMS OF INTEGRATED INFORMATION THEORY
• The essential properties of consciousness,
as identified by Integrated Information Theory
o INTRINSIC EXISTENCE
• Consciousness exists; each experience is actual / real
o COMPOSITION
• Consciousness is structured; made of multiple phenomenological distinctions
o INFORMATION
• Consciousness is specific; each experience is differentiated
o INTEGRATION
• Consciousness is unified; each experience is irreducible
o EXCLUSION
• Consciousness is definite; each experience has given distinctions, no less / more
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: Gerd Altmann - Pixabay]
[Image Source: Gerd Altmann - Pixabay]
24. THOUGHT EXERCISE
• In terms of relative complexity and level of consciousness,
how would you rate insects such as ants or bees?
o Consider that these insects have been classified as “superorganisms”!
• Function with a type of interaction that resembles behavior of single organism
• Tapped into a form of collective consciousness, which directs each ant / bee
to serve the colony’s needs, instead of merely individual’s own self-interest
o For more information, see the following study and book, respectively:
• Energetic basis of colonial living in social insects.
• The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies.
• Returning back to the original question:
Does this alter your initial answer?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: clipart-library.com/]
25. GAIA HYPOTHESIS
• The theory that living and
non-living parts of the Earth
form a complex system,
which can be thought of
as a living organism
o Proposed by chemist James Lovelock
and microbiologist Lynn Margulis
during the 1960s
• Based on work for NASA,
concerned with detecting life on Mars
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: nacla.org]
26. CELLS IN YOUR OWN BODY
• Consider the fact that you have
a similar structure to your own body –
alive and active right now!
o The body with which you associate
your personal identity is composed of
more than 30 trillion individual cells!
• Each of these cells is a living entity
o All contain the instruction set of
the whole through DNA
• Cluster together to form organs, etc.
• Perform particular collective functions
for the benefit of the entire superorganism
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: redbubble.com]
[Image Source: sciencealert.com - piranka - iStock]
27. PANPSYCHISM
• The doctrine or belief that
everything material – regardless of size –
has an element of individual consciousness
o Two possible forms:
• PANEXPERIENTIALISM:
• The view that conscious experience
is fundamental and ubiquitous
• PANCOGNITIVISM:
• The view that thought
is fundamental and ubiquitous
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: theelectricagora.com]
[Image Source: platofootnote.wordpress.com]
28. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
• How do we know whether or not an Artificial Intelligence
system is conscious?
o Study co-authored by Hakwan Lau – associate professor of
Cognitive Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience at UCLA –
has identified three levels of consciousness for AI systems
• edgy.app/3-levels-of-consciousness-explained-and-what-they-mean-for-ai
o Three levels:
• C0: Autopilot
• C1: Trains of Thought and Pools of Info
• C2: Metacognition
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: Robert Fludd, 1619, Wikimedia]
29. “CHINESE ROOM ARGUMENT”
• A classic thought experiment, first published in
a 1980 paper by American philosopher John Searle
o Designed to show that a digital computer
executing a program cannot be shown to have
a “mind,” “understanding,” or “consciousness”
• No matter how convincingly it may perform human-like behavior
o Scenario:
• Searle sits alone in a room, responding to Chinese characters
slipped to him under the door
• Following program for manipulating symbols,
just as a computer does
• Has no real understanding of Chinese – only following commands
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Sources: deepideas.net]
30. TIME FOR DISCUSSION!
• Guidelines for our round-table discussion
o All opinions, ideas, and perspectives are valid
• As David Chalmers mentioned in the TED Talk video,
it will take some radical shifts in thinking
to make further progress in this field
• There are no ”crazy ideas” in this open dialogue
o Let’s keep the discussion moving swiftly
• Be courteous to others who also wish to speak
• If we all keep our responses shorter,
we’ll be able to circle back to everyone
more quickly
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: jing.fm]
[Image Source: familylifeinspain.com]
31. QUESTION #1:
• What does the word “consciousness” mean to you?
o How would you define it?
• How does consciousness
relate to:
• Perception?
• Sentience?
• Self-awareness?
• Are there distinct nuances
to each of these terms?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: theconversation.com]
32. QUESTION #2:
• Are there different levels or degrees of consciousness?
o For example:
• How does animal consciousness
differ from that of humans?
• Are there various levels
or degrees of consciousness
among humans?
o What defines
these levels or degrees
from your perspective?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: i.ytimg.com/vi/I5KHCRnSKf0/hqdefault.jpg]
33. QUESTION #3:
• What are your thoughts on “panpsychism,”
as frequently referenced in this TED Talk?
o Is everything conscious,
including elementary
particles?
o How could this view
potentially affect
our conception
of what it means
to be a “living thing”?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: quantumawareness.net]
34. QUESTION #4:
• What are your thoughts about group consciousness,
as explained toward the end of the video?
o Does our group – i.e., the attendees of tonight’s event
– have a distinct consciousness?
o Does the city of New York have its own consciousness –
and, if so, how are the boundaries defined?
o How does the Hard Problem of Consciousness
relate to the Jungian concept of
the “collective unconscious” –
i.e., structures of the unconscious mind
shared among beings of the same species?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: cocreatorsworld.com]
35. QUESTION #5:
• Why is it so difficult to define
the precise relationship
between mind and matter?
o What makes it so challenging
to explain how consciousness
is produced?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: express.co.uk]
36. QUESTION #6:
• Would you consider yourself
to be a materialist? Dualist?
Idealist? Mysterian?
o How do these branches of
philosophy relate to the
Hard Problem of Consciousness?
o How does your preferred ideology
influence your view of the
relationship between
consciousness and the brain?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: crossexamined.org]
37. QUESTION #7:
• How much of the
ultimate reality
are we able to
perceive through
sensory signals
interpreted by
our brain?
o How does this
process affect
our ability to know
what truly exists?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: bbc.com]
38. QUESTION #8:
• How does the Hard Problem
of Consciousness relate to
the Cartesian Theater and
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave?
o How do these models
facilitate our understanding
of the relationship between
the brain and consciousness?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: wikipedia.org]
39. QUESTION #9:
• What are your thoughts about
consciousness as it relates to
Artificial Intelligence?
o What determines whether
an AI system is conscious or not?
o What are the moral and ethical
considerations that come into play,
as our world advances further in
developing these types of tools?
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: hurriyetdailynews.com]
[Image Source: forbes.com]
40. QUESTION #10:
• Are there any other concepts
touched upon in the TED Talk
that struck you as significant
or intriguing that have not
been discussed yet?
o Share any other aspects of the
video – or the subject of the
Hard Problem of Consciousness
in general – that you find
particularly interesting.
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: Gerd Altmann - Pixabay]
41. THANKS FOR ATTENDING TONIGHT’S EVENT!
• Thanks so much for participating!
o Hope you enjoyed tonight’s event!
• See you again soon!
o Stay in touch!
o Nikki Johnson
• LinkedIn:
o linkedin.com/in/nikki-johnson-free-thinker
• Preview of the Book Introduction:
o linkedin.com/pulse/internal-process-enlightenment-
bridging-spirituality-science-johnson/
A Philosophical Discussion / TED Circle Event, Presented By:
> Fibonacci Events. www.FibonacciEvents.com. > Enlightenment Wisdom. linkedin.com/company/enlightenment-wisdom.
[Image Source: KJPargeter - Freepik]