Skepdick wrote: ↑Thu Aug 29, 2019 4:18 pmThat's consciousness. The start of the causal chain.
Absolutely.
The thing that wrote the book. Not the book.
Yes. The thing that wrote "The thing that wrote the book. Not the book."
That thing (which wrote "The thing that wrote the book. Not the book.") caused the text "The thing that wrote the book. Not the book." to appear on my screen.
bahman wrote: ↑Thu Aug 29, 2019 3:48 pmWhat you are experiencing is what is given to you by the electromagnetic field rather than my conscious field. What I am stressing is that there is no conscious field.
An electromagnetic field is only a region in which a charged particle is deflected. We only know a particle is charged, because it's deflected. So it's a bit circular, but it can all be measured.
We know that brain activity is associated with em activity, but it's a whopping leap to claim that consciousness is an em phenomenon.
Here's something to ponder: "What we observe as material bodies and forces, are nothing but shapes and variations in the structure of space."
Erwin Schroedinger.
All that stuff you hear about unified theories ultimately boil down to describing what space is. Maybe we'll one day be able to explain consciousness in that context, but there's a way to go yet.
Skepdick wrote: ↑Thu Aug 29, 2019 4:18 pmThat's consciousness. The start of the causal chain.
Absolutely.
The thing that wrote the book. Not the book.
Yes. The thing that wrote "The thing that wrote the book. Not the book."
That thing (which wrote "The thing that wrote the book. Not the book.") caused the text "The thing that wrote the book. Not the book." to appear on my screen.
If you have an alternative/better hypothesis as to the causal chain which made those exact symbols to appear on my screen - lets hear it.
On the one hand you want explanations, on the other hand you seem to be opposed to adductive reasoning (which can be understood as inference to the best explanation). Seems like you want to have your cake and eat it too
Last edited by Skepdick on Thu Aug 29, 2019 4:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Dontaskme wrote: ↑Thu Aug 29, 2019 4:20 pm
Consciousness cannot be measured, only the effects of consciousness can be measured.
Which can be said for all things scientific/epistemic. Mass cannot be measured, only the effects of mass can be measured.
Noumena cause phenomena.
.. phenomena is noumena phenomenalizing ..
Mass cannot be measured because mass is inseparable from the consciousness in which it is known. A measuring tape does not know it can measure, measurement is a known objective idea in consciousness that cannot be measured. That which is known knows nothing, and nothing cannot be measured.
Skepdick wrote: ↑Thu Aug 29, 2019 4:34 pm
If you have an alternative/better hypothesis as to the causal chain which made those exact symbols to appear on my screen - lets hear it.
To know the causal chain which makes appearances appear would be like the disney character Cinderella knowing her biological Father.
PTH wrote: ↑Thu Aug 29, 2019 5:07 pm
And, in particular, what's missing is the understanding of the information.
Only the question requires understanding. Not information.
Information is that which reduces your uncertainty.
Information is the evidence you require to make up your mind.
Is PTH conscious?
A. Yes.
B. No.
My uncertainty is 50%.
If you don't know what the question means information can't help you!