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From: jeff@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Jeff Dalton)
Subject: Re: Thought Question
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References: <1995Jan12.184559.2530@galileo.cc.rochester.edu> <3f5nuu$mks@ixnews2.ix.netcom.com> <1995Jan14.043829.29350@galileo.cc.rochester.edu>
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 1995 17:44:30 GMT
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In article <1995Jan14.043829.29350@galileo.cc.rochester.edu> stevens@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu (Greg Stevens) writes:
>In <3f5nuu$mks@ixnews2.ix.netcom.com> prem@ix.netcom.com (Prem Sobel) writes:
>>In <1995Jan12.184559.2530@galileo.cc.rochester.edu> 
>>stevens@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu (Greg Stevens) writes: 

>>>While it is an interesting thought experiment, and brings up the point
>>> that there is no evolutionary benefit to consciousness ...
>
>>You have got to be kidding !!!! [...]
>
>Okay, you're missing the point again, I think.  Consider a machine which
>had no consicouness, but was programmed to behave EXACTLY as you do. [...]
>
>I think what was being asked for us to consider was this: Consider a machine
>that was programmed to respond to stimuli the same as us, but had no
>consciousness.  There would be no evolutionary reason for it to be
>selected out, with us superior, if its behaviors were the same, and all
>it was lacking was subjectivity.  Thus, it seems that there is no
>evolutionary benefit to subjective experience per se.

That may be, but there could still have been a benefit for creatures like
us.  Our behavioral capabilities may well depend on being conscious in
the sense that consciousness is part of how we accomplish such behavior.
The possibility of some other way of doing it wouldn't mean that
consciousness had been of no benefit to us.

-- jeff
