Category Archives: Philosophy
Moving on from system states (and states of the system), today I’d like to fly over the landscape of different systems. In particular, systems that are — or are not — viewed as conscious.
Two views make this especially interesting. The first holds that everything is computing everything and — under computationalism — this includes conscious computations. The second (if I understand it) holds that anything that processes input data into some kind of output is conscious. (I’m not clear if the view also sees an input-output system as a computer.)
So I want to explore what I see as major landmarks in the landscape of systems that… well, about the only thing we can probably all agree on is that they do something.
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14 Comments | tags: brain mind problem, cargo cult, computationalism, consciousness, human brain, human consciousness, human mind, interpretation, mind, positronic brain, Theory of Consciousness, theory of mind | posted in Computers, Philosophy, Science
Over the last three posts I’ve been exploring the idea of system states and how they might connect with computational theories of mind. I’ve used a full-adder logic circuit as a simple stand-in for the brain — the analog flow and logical gating characteristics of the two are very similar.
In particular I’ve explored the idea that the output state of the system doesn’t reflect its inner working, especially with regard to intermediate states of the system as it generates the desired output (and that output can fluctuate until it “settles” to a valid correct value).
Here I plan to wrap up and summarize the system states exploration.
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2 Comments | tags: algorithm, computation, computationalism, computer model, computer program, consciousness, finite state machine, full-adder, state diagram, Theory of Consciousness, theory of mind | posted in Computers, Philosophy, Science
I left off last time talking about intermediate, or transitory, states of a system. The question is, if we only look at the system at certain key points that we think matter, do any intermediate states make a difference?
In a standard digital computer, the answer is a definite no. Even in many kinds of analog computers, transitory states exist for the same reason they do in digital computers (signals flowing through different paths and arriving at the key points at different times). In both cases they are ignored. Only the stable final state matters.
So in the brain, what are the key points? What states matter?
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16 Comments | tags: computation, computationalism, computer code, computer model, computer program, consciousness, full-adder, Theory of Consciousness, theory of mind | posted in Computers, Philosophy, Science
In the last post I talked about software models for a full-adder logic circuit. I broke them into two broad categories: models of an abstraction, and models of a physical instance. Because the post was long, I was able to mention the code implementations only in passing (but there are links).
I want to talk a little more about those two categories, especially the latter, and in particular an implementation that bridges between the categories. It’s here that ideas about simulating the brain or mind become important. Most approaches involve some kind of simulation.
One type of simulation involves the states of a system.
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8 Comments | tags: algorithm, computation, computationalism, computer code, computer model, computer program, consciousness, full-adder, Theory of Consciousness, theory of mind, Turing Machine | posted in Computers, Philosophy, Science
Imagine the watershed for a river. Every drop of water that falls in that area, if it doesn’t evaporate or sink into the ground, eventually makes its way, through creeks, streams, and rivers, to the lake or ocean that is the shed’s final destination. The visual image is somewhat like the veins in a leaf. Or the branches of the leaf’s tree.
In all cases, there is a natural flow through channels sculpted over time by physical forces. Water always flows downhill, and it erodes what it flows past, so gravity, time, and the resistance of rock and dirt, sculpt the watershed.
The question is whether the water “computes.”
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16 Comments | tags: algorithm, computation, computationalism, computer code, computer model, computer program, consciousness, full-adder, Theory of Consciousness, theory of mind, Turing Machine | posted in Computers, Philosophy, Science
Previously, I wrote that I’m skeptical of interpretation as an analytic tool. In physical reality, generally speaking, I think there is a single correct interpretation (more of a true account than an interpretation). Every other interpretation is a fiction, usually made obvious by complexity and entropy.
I recently encountered an argument for interpretation that involved the truth table for the Boolean logical AND being seen — if one inverts the interpretation of all the values — as the truth table for the logical OR.
It turns out to be a tautology. A logical AND mirrors a logical OR.
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9 Comments | tags: algorithm, AND gate, boolean logic, computation, computationalism, consciousness, human consciousness, interpretation, logic gate, NAND gate, NOR gate, OR gate, Theory of Consciousness, theory of mind, truth table | posted in Computers, Math, Philosophy
My illusion of free will decided the month of May must be made for Mind (and maybe a dash of Mandelbrot). Lately, online discussions about consciousness have me pondering it again. I never posted on topics such as Chinese Rooms or Philosophical Zombies, largely because sensible arguments exist both ways, and I never decided exactly where I fell in the argument space.
It’s not that I’ve decided[1] on the topics so much as I’ve decided to write about them (and other topics). I’ve found that writing about a topic does a lot to clarify my mind about it. (Trying to teach a topic does that even more.)
I’ll start today with some personal observations and points of view.
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11 Comments | tags: brain mind problem, cargo cult, computationalism, consciousness, human brain, human consciousness, human mind, interpretation, mind, Theory of Consciousness, theory of mind | posted in Computers, Philosophy, Science
I’d planned a different first post for May Mind Month, but a recent online conversation with JamesOfSeattle gave me two reasons to jump the gun a bit.
Firstly, my reply was getting long (what a surprise), and I thought a post would give me more elbow room (raising, obviously, the possibility of dueling posts). Secondly, I found the topic unusual enough to deserve its own thread.
Be advised this jumps into the middle of a conversation that may only be of interest to James and me. (But feel free to join in; the water’s fine.)
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55 Comments | tags: neuron, semantic vectors, vector space, vectors | posted in Computers, Philosophy, Science
In debates (or even just discussions) people sometimes ask how we know the physical world is really there. A variation asks how we know that what we perceive as the real world is the same as what other people perceive. (One example of this is the inverted spectrum.)
The most accurate answer is: We don’t. Not for sure, anyway. There is at least one assumption built in, but it’s one we have to make to escape our own minds. According to ancient philosophical tradition, the only fact we know for sure is that we ourselves exist. (Although I think there’s an argument to be made about a priori knowledge.)
But, as with the excluded middle, accepting reality as an axiom seems almost necessary if we’re to move forward in any useful way.
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2 Comments | tags: Cogito ergo sum, excluded middle, idealism, realism, reality, René Descartes, solipsism, virtual reality | posted in Philosophy
Lately I’ve been reading about compatibilism with regard to free will. While I’ve considered free will before, especially in the context of determinism, I’ve never explored compatibilism, and I decided it was time I got around to checking it out.
What triggered my renewed interest was, firstly, the movie Arrival (and the short story on which it’s based), and secondly, the HBO series, Westworld. Both have thoughtful science fiction with themes concerning free will (or its lack).
When one of my favorite physics bloggers, Sabine Hossenfelder, wrote a post about free will, it inspired me to write one, too. Monkey see, monkey do!
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104 Comments | tags: causal determinism, chaos, chaos theory, determinism, free will, physical determinism | posted in Opinion, Philosophy
Logos con carne 