Perhaps the word you are looking for is compatibilism, the belief that free will and determinism are not dichotomies and are compatible ideas. I think for the time being it is pragmatically useful to believe in free will because for instance how could we prosecute a murderer if he was destined by the laws of physics to commit the crime? How could he be held responsible for something he had no control over? |
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Consciousness is the result of brain activity. It actually arises from the executive functions of the brain. |
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To me conciousness is something more than just I biological prosses. If our bodys could go surrvive on outomattic prosses like eating and looking for food shelter and water why be conciouse? What would make it happen. Machines work out problems and can sometimes support themselvs but they dont have a conciouseness they have responses to things. So why we have a conciousness will never be known and it probobly wont ever be explained. |
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Having a consciousness allows us to actively work out problems rather then respond instinctually. It increases our intelligence which increases our survivability. Besides, consciousness is on some level an automatic process. It is just a complex one, but one neuron interacts with another which interacts with another etc. etc. until we find food and shelter and sex. |
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Paul is Dead
Actually the reason why we're so capable of adapting and surviving is because of our complex mental processes. That's where our consciousness comes from. Although we could probably survive using automatic processes, it wouldn't give us as much of an advantage as consciousness does. |
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I don't see why consciousness is necessary for complex thought. Can this be explained? And how complex, exactly? Why is it necessary there be a subjective percept associated with, say, a red object, in order for a system to know that it is red? There is digital technology that can tell us if something is red or not, but we don't associate any subjective experience with it. Functionally, it seems that consciousness is a superfluous layer. |
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Yet being conscious of red is extremely simple. |
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It's not just complex thought that constitutes consciousness. You could argue that CPUs are subjected to having very complex "thoughts". It's probably having executive control over one's thoughts and actions and having self-reflective capabilities that consciousness arises from. I haven't pondered the likely sources of consciousness too in-depth yet, but complex thought is a very good (and possibly the only) candidate, given that the entity is able to be 'aware' of certain things. |
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You could argue that simply by seeing red you are conscious of it. As long as you are receiving some form of input of something, you are aware of it. Our brains dull the focus of specific facets of our perception in order to provide sufficient awareness of the things we need to be aware of. |
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Why settle for one? Here is a cool selection task with multiple views how consciousness is viewed. You can pick three or less: |
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Most people are not conscious. Here is a cool video that I think we all can learn something from: http://=http://video.google.com/vide...Consciousness" |
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Consciousness is self-awareness. Generally considered the ability to think, as opposed to just getting things done. In Jungian psychology, consciousness is an orientation (Introversion/Extraversion) and four functions (Sensing, iNtuition, Thinking, Feeling) differentiated and adapted by the (association with the) ego, as opposed to the Self which included conscious and unconscious material. |
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I found this pretty interesting: What is Consciousness? |
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Last edited by Raphael; 07-29-2011 at 01:45 AM.
Therefore, anything determined before it's caused, isn't an effect. |
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I stomp on your ideas.
I think consciousness is equal to existence. Existence of any sort demands awareness of such, and awareness demands a consciousness that is aware of being existent, therefore I am conscious. |
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Well I am no animist, and no your ballpoint is not conscious, or did you happen to see it interact with it's surroundings on it's own? If so your ballpoint must be possessed by dark spirits and I suggest you to burn it with the help of an exorcist. lol. |
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Last edited by WiseEggHead; 05-18-2013 at 03:37 AM.
Oops - I haven't read the whole thread, just your post. Taken at face value, your statements that I quoted would indicate than anything that exists is by definition aware and conscious. |
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Last edited by Darkmatters; 05-18-2013 at 06:23 AM.
Hmm. Awareness = Cosciousness = Existence? You see what I meant was, that when you exist and you are aware of it, then you are conscious. if you are conscious that means you are aware. and if you are conscious and aware, so you must exist. for me these three words would prove each other, which would prove that a subject either is conscious or is not conscious. obviously "awareness = consciousness" is right too in that matter, hence as I said to me all three of them are linked, like some kind of triforce (you know the triforce from zelda?), I may draw it real fast and show you in a graph what I mean. |
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Not familiar with the triforce, but I get what you mean. |
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Consciousness is the power to be aware of yourself and your surroundings as they are. |
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We are the opposites of machines. That is the beauty about humans. You don't make choices by random quantum mechanics, because if you get a choice to shoot somebody you don't know, you won't do it on a scale of 1/4 that it could happen. You make your choices based on your experiences, your feelings and of course your values. |
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