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Article 2235 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: geb@dsl.pitt.edu (gordon e. banks)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Scaled up slug brains
Message-ID: <12782@pitt.UUCP>
Date: 18 Dec 91 16:11:54 GMT
References: <12708@pitt.UUCP> <44970@mimsy.umd.edu> <1991Dec18.071959.4921@daisy.ee.und.ac.za>
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Organization: Decision Systems Laboratory, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA.
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In article <1991Dec18.071959.4921@daisy.ee.und.ac.za> mclarke@daisy.ee.und.ac.za (Matthew Clarke) writes:
>
>Likewise, I see no problem (*) accepting that there is a continuum of brain
>complexity from lower to higher animals, while still maintaining that humans
>have minds while sea-slugs do not. There is no point in trying to draw
>a quantitative line when the difference is qualitative. 
>
Ok then, do chimps have minds?  What is a mind, anyhow?  I'd say the
shaving example is silly.  One man is clean shaven and other isn't
and in between the man is partly clean shaven (where the razor has
just been).  Don't see why this applies to evolution, myself.

>(*) By "no problem" I mean no philosophical problem, there is of course the
>empirical problem that brain complexity of various animals does NOT form a
>continuum, but a discrete series with some (rather large) holes.
>
Of course, since you and I and every other animal is discrete, there
can't be a continuum.  Perhaps the problem is with making abstractions
like "mind" instead of just talking about observed behavior.



-- 
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Gordon Banks  N3JXP      | "I have given you an argument; I am not obliged
geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu   |  to supply you with an understanding." -S.Johnson
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