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Article 7463 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: system@CODEWKS.nacjack.gen.nz (Wayne McDougall)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: We've Been Tricked- consciousness
Message-ID: <7u2FTB1w165w@CODEWKS.nacjack.gen.nz>
Date: 31 Oct 92 23:50:35 GMT
References: <1992Oct23.163053.6252@spss.com>
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markrose@spss.com (Mark Rosenfelder) writes:

> In article <BwJuuE.DpD@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> lcarr@silver.ucs.indiana.edu 
> (lincoln carr) writes:
> >Although my own thoughts on this matter are by no means clear and
> >distinct and by no means set in stone, I suppose that what I'm
> >reaching for is the equation of consciousness with apperception.  When
> >one asks "What is consciousness?"  it would seem that things like
> >intelligence or reason, if these are even well-defined terms, would be
> >thrown out, for surely there are many subrational beings that one
> >would putatively describe as "conscious," e.g., an infant.  If
> >consciousness is not rationality or a certain degree of intelligence
> >and it is a well-defined term and means SOMETHING, then what is one
> >left with if not apperception?  
> 
> If consciousness is nothing but perception, then the word is not useful,
> because we already have the word "perception" to talk about this phenomenon.
> The same can be said, I think, for consciousness as self-awareness.  Why
> would we want to replace the straightforward term "self-awareness" with
> the nebulous "consciousness"?
> 
> I suspect the concept behind "consciousness" is what has been called the
> Cartesian Theater-- the idea of the little guy in your head who calls
> himself "I", who perceives the world and his own existence.
> 
> This is certainly one of the more interesting things that goes on in
> our brains, tho' perhaps we exaggerate its importance, since "we" are
> precisely instances of the phenomenon...
> 
> We had might as well reserve the word "consciousness" for this, since
> otherwise it has no name, and other things we could use the word for 
> have names of their own.


It does indeed have a name. Homunculus.

-- 
  Wayne McDougall, BCNU
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