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24 votes

Does the "gradual brain replacement" thought experiment prove consciousness is independent of substrate?

No thought problem provides a proof, as the thought problem has embedded assumptions which are not challenged by an actual test, where the assumptions might not hold. The explicit assumption that is ...
Dcleve's user avatar
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15 votes

Does the "gradual brain replacement" thought experiment prove consciousness is independent of substrate?

This appears to be a rephrasing of Chalmers' "Absent Qualia, Fading Qualia, Dancing Qualia" (1996) paper. Given your 12.5K score on Philosophy Stack Exchange, I presume you are familiar with ...
nir's user avatar
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12 votes

Does the "gradual brain replacement" thought experiment prove consciousness is independent of substrate?

Neurons are examples of nanites themselves. They are tiny physical entities obeying the laws of physics. If the subject should report any weird sensations, you would have to conclude that your nanites ...
Niels Holst's user avatar
9 votes

From a functionalist point of view: when is an algorithm an A.I., and when is it just software?

The position of functionalists on AI is similar to the position of compatibilists on free will in two important respects. First, they distance themselves from the Cartesian idea that there is some ...
Conifold's user avatar
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6 votes

Does the "gradual brain replacement" thought experiment prove consciousness is independent of substrate?

I've encountered this idea. I've also encountered its inverse. In essence, this is the same mistake as the philosopher zombie mistake; the result is assumed. However this time it is theoretically a ...
Joshua's user avatar
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4 votes

Seeking Help on Cartesian Dualism and the Mind-Body Relationship

From what I understand, Cartesian dualism asserts that the mind and body are two separate substances that interact with each other Be mindful that the term 'substance' in philosophy means something ...
Wayfarer's user avatar
  • 604
4 votes

Seeking Help on Cartesian Dualism and the Mind-Body Relationship

See this question and answers for a variety of contemporary resources: Contemporary proponents of Cartesian dualism Additionally, since that answer, I have encountered Graham Martin, who wrote two ...
Dcleve's user avatar
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4 votes

What is Searle's argument against machine functionalism?

Functionalism is the view that mental states are nothing but the mental functions being performed. That is, there is no underlying mental "substance," for the lack of a better term, other than the ...
Bertrand Wittgenstein's Ghost's user avatar
4 votes

Can behaviourism account for qualia?

It seems answer is no. In fact, qualia is one of argument against Behaviourism. For example, some zoombie can behaves exactly as Praying to God and chanting God's name but without any 'feelings' of ...
Hare Krishna's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

On a reductionist/functionalist account of consciousness, would we have ethical obligations toward robots?

If robots achieve (human-level) consciousness, we likely wouldn't have a good differentiating criteria between human and robot for ethical consideration. On a related note, vegans argue that we don't ...
NotThatGuy's user avatar
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4 votes

On a reductionist/functionalist account of consciousness, would we have ethical obligations toward robots?

This is easy to approach with the proper definitions. Morals are a set of rules which improve social interactions (for multiple goals, for example, survival: it is not moral to kill because it reduces ...
RodolfoAP's user avatar
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4 votes

Does the "gradual brain replacement" thought experiment prove consciousness is independent of substrate?

First, I want to say that the thing you want to conclude is something I agree with, i.e. that consciousness is substrate-independent. However, the question isn't whether this is true but whether the ...
N. Virgo's user avatar
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3 votes

Does the "gradual brain replacement" thought experiment prove consciousness is independent of substrate?

Your assumptions are very strong and essentially affect the outcome. Thomas Breuer has shown that from the point of view of any observer, a system properly containing himself (such as his brain) does ...
Anixx's user avatar
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2 votes

What is the relationship between cognition and qualia?

There is a reason for qualia, i.e. it serves a critical purpose. Due to the significance of certain cognitive data, that data must be 'experienced.' It cannot be properly processed by blind non-...
Nick Mirro's user avatar
2 votes
Accepted

Cloning: Will you be the same person?

Identity is an ambiguous notion. (1) The Morning Star and the Evening Star are identical in the sense that they are one and the same object, namely the planet Venus. In contrast (2) two items coming ...
Geoffrey Thomas's user avatar
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2 votes

Are Boltzmann brains conscious under functionalism?

The argument isn't really about brains floating in a vacuum any more than Schrödinger's cat argument is about cats. You can add bodies and an environment for the brains if you like. E.g., you could ...
benrg's user avatar
  • 1,304
2 votes

Do qualia bring about issues for functionalism?

Yes, qualia very much pose a problem for functionalism -- that is what they were articulated to point out. Mary can functionally do vision science, but EXPERIENCING vision adds something to her ...
Dcleve's user avatar
  • 17.4k
2 votes

Logical behaviorism vs Functionalism

Short Answer Both behaviorism and functionalism are related to the philosophy of mind, but they do so in slightly different ways. Functionalism is an idea about the relationship between material ...
J D's user avatar
  • 35.6k
2 votes

Seeking Help on Cartesian Dualism and the Mind-Body Relationship

I would argue that it's about the status of mathematics, and that Mathematical Platonists are necessarily substance dualists - so include modern thinkers like say Max Tegmark (eg his book The ...
CriglCragl's user avatar
  • 23.8k
2 votes

Trouble understanding how the Chinese room experiment refutes computer functionalism

This is one of the most-discussed arguments in the philosophy of mind. The discussion encompasses almost every important topic in the discipline. As such, I won't touch on its implications and ...
Yechiam Weiss's user avatar
2 votes

Does the "gradual brain replacement" thought experiment prove consciousness is independent of substrate?

I would say that the assumptions under which the experiment operates prevent it from proving independence of substrate, core to the experiment is the assumption that this: The nanites are close ...
Jack Aidley's user avatar
  • 1,372
1 vote

What is a functional relationship?

A function in the sense you list is listed by Google as follows: an activity or purpose natural to or intended for a person or thing. In the example of any computational artifact, which is a machine ...
J D's user avatar
  • 35.6k
1 vote

Is there a mathematical grounding for functionalism?

The TLDR is Yes. There are mathematical models of minds that use functions. The paragraph covers them under the heading Machine State Functions and systems like the Turing Machine were modeled on the ...
J D's user avatar
  • 35.6k
1 vote

Anthropomorphism and AI

We don't have anything like a definitive answer. In one camp you have Google Engineer Claims AI Chatbot Is Sentient. On the other, some claim that due to qualia or embodied cognition AGI will not be ...
CriglCragl's user avatar
  • 23.8k
1 vote
Accepted

Anthropomorphism and AI

Updated Answer On this very subject I found a 19-page paper published by the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI). Artificial General Intelligence and the Human Mental Model, Roman V. ...
SystemTheory's user avatar
  • 3,198
1 vote

How can mathematical results impact the physical world?

How can we think of such a causal influence of an abstract property on the physical world? ... Is anyone aware of references addressing this issue? Well, one way to address this issue is through ...
J D's user avatar
  • 35.6k
1 vote

Functionalism and potential causation

This is an attempt to a formal, not mathematical description. Like mathematics and logic, systems are part of metaphysics, but there is no agreement on the formal description of systems. Mind maps, ...
RodolfoAP's user avatar
  • 8,110

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