LessWrong has a particularly high bar for content from new users and this contribution doesn't quite meet the bar.
Confusion / muddled reasoning.
Read full explanation
Spirits, Souls, Consciousness. We have many terms for our sense of self. There is a major trend across human culture where the intended definition of a word gets lost in translation due to several factors. Today these 3 things are seen as totally different topics. The reality is that all 3 of these things are different cultures attempting to explain what oneself refers to as "me" when speaking in 3rd person.
Today we know that Consciousness is not the product of a single system. There are multiple systems within the human body that contribute to our sense of self we are referring to when we say "I". While we have yet to narrow it down and define the mechanics of such a topic, I wish to propose a framework to define our current understanding of what we refer to as Consciousness.
At the very least we know that there is no singular thing that is responsible for consciousness. There are many systems in the human body. We have emotions, physical senses, memories and experiences. Each of these systems and how we respond to them are the byproduct of our biological evolution. The organs, cells and everything else that makes up the human body are all wired to a processing centre we call the brain. All these subsystems come together to form a hivemind we call consciousness.
I propose that consciousness is not a product of complexity. Consciousness is merely the experience, command and control centre in which we interpret reality. The only thing separating a human from a single cell is the complexity of the system. The complexity of our system allows us to contemplate our own existence. The tools we have to understand each other are barely functional, yet we try and claim to know the mindsets of other animals who are the product of the very same evolution which gave rise to us.
Spirituality, Souls, Consciousness. These are all trying to define the same thing. One's sense of self, the experience, command and control centre of a system of systems. Just because we cant communicate with trees, or hold a 2 way conversation with a cat, doesn’t mean these life forms are not capable of thought. They to may even be able to ponder their own existence in their own way. We do not have the science, tools or understanding to infer the thoughts of another human (outside of extreme cases), let alone another animal.
So I ask you the following question. What gives us the right to assign value to another life form in the first place?
Spirits, Souls, Consciousness. We have many terms for our sense of self. There is a major trend across human culture where the intended definition of a word gets lost in translation due to several factors. Today these 3 things are seen as totally different topics. The reality is that all 3 of these things are different cultures attempting to explain what oneself refers to as "me" when speaking in 3rd person.
Today we know that Consciousness is not the product of a single system. There are multiple systems within the human body that contribute to our sense of self we are referring to when we say "I". While we have yet to narrow it down and define the mechanics of such a topic, I wish to propose a framework to define our current understanding of what we refer to as Consciousness.
At the very least we know that there is no singular thing that is responsible for consciousness. There are many systems in the human body. We have emotions, physical senses, memories and experiences. Each of these systems and how we respond to them are the byproduct of our biological evolution. The organs, cells and everything else that makes up the human body are all wired to a processing centre we call the brain. All these subsystems come together to form a hivemind we call consciousness.
I propose that consciousness is not a product of complexity. Consciousness is merely the experience, command and control centre in which we interpret reality. The only thing separating a human from a single cell is the complexity of the system. The complexity of our system allows us to contemplate our own existence. The tools we have to understand each other are barely functional, yet we try and claim to know the mindsets of other animals who are the product of the very same evolution which gave rise to us.
Spirituality, Souls, Consciousness. These are all trying to define the same thing. One's sense of self, the experience, command and control centre of a system of systems. Just because we cant communicate with trees, or hold a 2 way conversation with a cat, doesn’t mean these life forms are not capable of thought. They to may even be able to ponder their own existence in their own way. We do not have the science, tools or understanding to infer the thoughts of another human (outside of extreme cases), let alone another animal.
So I ask you the following question.
What gives us the right to assign value to another life form in the first place?