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Is there something special that allows people to talk, think, see or hear? Or are we simply machines? More and more is being known about the biology of perception, memory etc. However, suppose we would know everything about these mechanisms: would we then better understand consciousness? Or is there then an artificial form of consciousness that differs from the human form?When asked if people are a machine, two answers are possible. We can start with biology and try to understand how neural systems work or we can make artificial systems and see to what extent they correspond to a human being. We will talk about artificial consciousness ( "AC" or " machine consciousness ' ,' MC '), which is closely related to artificial intelligence ( 'AI'). Descartes believed that the human body is a machine, but that this machine can not provide voice and rational thought on its own. Rational thinking could be the result of the workings of consciousness. However, a spirit is needed for this.In 1642 Pascal built the first calculator, which was improved by Leibniz. Leibniz believed that matter consists of small 'wisps'. He disagreed with Descartes who claimed that the mind can influence the brain. Leibniz thought about the existence of thinking and observing machines. He presented a thought experiment in which he imagined that there would be a conscious machine that a man could fit into. If one would enter this machine, he could find parts that work on each other and he would not find parts that could explain the perception.Boole believed that the human mind could eventually be explained by means of mathematical formulas. He has never been able to find these formulas. Yet thanks to him, algebra was used during the computer revolution. Turing argued that problems could be solved with algorithms. He spoke about a simple, abstract...
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The problem of consciousness is related to some of the oldest questions of philosophy: what does the world consist of? Who am I? It relates to the mind-body problem: what is the relationship between the physical and the mental?
Despite the fact that we are learning more and more about the functioning of the brain, consciousness remains a mystery. In the past, they used the term 'élan vital' to explain how non-living things could be made alive. Nowadays this concept is no longer used, since we know that biological processes are responsible for this. Some scientists believe that the same will also happen with the term consciousness. Once we understand how brain processes create a sense of consciousness, then we might not need to use this term anymore.
Consciousness requires some sort of dualism: objectivity vs. subjectivity, inner vs. outer, mind vs. body...
For example: Take a pencil in your hand and look at it. You see the pencil from your own unique perspective, which you cannot share with others. The pencil is part of the outside world, your experience with the pencil is part of your inner world.
The way philosophers view the consciousness problem can generally be divided into monist theories, which suggest that there are one kind of things in the world, and dualist theories, which suggest that there are two kinds of things. Some theories state that the mental world is fundamental and some theories state that the physical world is fundamental.
Monistic theories assume that the world consists of only one kind of matter (body or mind). Some monistic theories state that everything consists of the mind, according to these theories we only have ideas and perceptions of a pencil. We do not know if a pencil really exists. People who assume this are called mentalists or idealists. Berkeley supported this principle. The disadvantage of this perspective is that we can never know for certain whether objects with fixed characteristics exist.
Materialists are also monists. They believe that there is only matter. An example for this is the identity theory, which states that mental experiences are the same as physical experiences. Another example is functionalism, which assumes that mental experiences are the same as functional experiences.
Epiphenomenalism assumes that physical processes cause mental events, but that mental events have no effect on physical events. Huxley was a supporter of this idea. He did not deny that consciousness or subjective experiences existed, but stated that they have no (causal) connection with physical processes. He used
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