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Article 3169 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert)
Subject: Re: Intelligence Testing
Message-ID: <1992Jan27.060945.27989@mp.cs.niu.edu>
Organization: Northern Illinois University
References: <11927@optima.cs.arizona.edu>
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 1992 06:09:45 GMT
Lines: 35

In article <11927@optima.cs.arizona.edu> gudeman@cs.arizona.edu (David Gudeman) writes:
>In article  <1992Jan26.220013.7722@mp.cs.niu.edu> Neil Rickert writes:
>] The problem, however, is that yours is a completely unscientific approach.
>]Using introspection means observing yourself.  This means you are subject
>]to total bias.  Scientific investigation must avoid bias.
>
>If introspection is total bias, then so is reading an instrument.  In

 There is a very big difference between
	(a) reading an instrument
and 
	(b) reading an instrument which is measuring yourself.

>either case the observation is a personal one, and someone else can
>deny that you are correct, even though you are certain that you are
>correct.  Furthermore, the conclusion that _I_ am conscious is even

  But when there is a dispute on reading an instrument, other observers
can be brought in to repeat the experiment, and reconfirm the results.
When you read an instrument which measures yourself, in which cannot
be read by anybody else, there is no possibility of confirmation.

>approach that level of certainty.  Furthermore, all of mathematics is
>based on the same sort of introspection by which I determine the fact
>of my own consciousness.  Is mathematics not objective?

 I guess you don't understand mathematics!  Either that, or your usage of
"introspection" is different from everyone else's.  Mathematics is based
on proofs which are independently verifiable by others.

-- 
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
  Neil W. Rickert, Computer Science               <rickert@cs.niu.edu>
  Northern Illinois Univ.
  DeKalb, IL 60115                                   +1-815-753-6940


