I of the Vortex
by Rodolfo R. Llinas · first published 2001
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I would recommend Llinás book "I of the Vortex" which explains a pretty interesting reason for the existance of "consciousness". Also Wittgenstein has some thoughts about it too.
on “Is Consciousness Everywhere?” ↗You don't need anything discovered in the last 40 years to be able to state that lobsters are not sentient. But, Rodolfo R Llinás' "I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self" is a really great book that explores the underpinings of sentience from single neurons on up. The tldr; is that the structures which seem to be necessary (if not sufficient) for…
on “Parrots will share currency to help their pals purchase food (2020)” ↗…can determine whether a person is thinking or not by several means, all very different to 'introspection'. Arguing about 'the illusion of thought' really sounds like medieval philosophy. I recommend 'I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self' by Rodolfo Llinás for a more modern take on these issues.
on “Might Our Universe Have Been Born Inside a Black Hole?” ↗I would argue that Rodolfo Llinás in fact knows more about the brain than either one of your two philosophers. Please read the book 'I of the Vortex' before answering this comment.
on “A Philosopher Every Programmer Should Know: Susanne K. Langer” ↗What you describe is the central idea in 'I of the vortex: from neurons to self' by neuroscientist Rodolfo Llinás. Self consciousness and awareness is linked both to physical perception and to the prediction and anticipation of said perception.
on “Is This Economist Too Far Ahead of His Time?” ↗That's kind of the thesis Rodolfo Llinas puts forward in a book of his, I of the Vortex[0], although more about consciousness than intelligence. That is, consciousness is the machinery that developed in order for us to predict the next short while and control our body through it. [0] https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/i-vortex
on “John Carmack: I’m going to work on artificial general intelligence” ↗…motor action planning*. If it turns out some plants are sentient (or even sapient) their "consciousness" will likely be different enough to deserve a new word. * see the book Rodolfo R Llinás wrote, "I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self". Llinás was the discoverer of the mechanism by which myelinated axons conduct action potentials among a dozen other fundemental neural processes or neuroscience techniques. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodolfo_Llin%C3%A1s
on “Geneticist Barbara McClintock on Plant Consciousness” ↗…themselves, so perhaps we could learn together more about these. Neuroscientist Rodolfo Llinas did an interesting experiment on himself, and explained it in an interview on Science Network about his book "I of the vortex". He was able to consistently turn his foot inwards by placing a strong magnet at certain position on his head. Then he decided he would decide to move his foot outwards when the magnet was applied on…
on “Why Conscious AI Is a Bad, Bad Idea” ↗…decisions to make, no brain is necessary). Sea squirts being a prime example: "As an adult, the sea squirt attaches itself to a stationary object and then digests most of its own brain." (Rodolfo R. Llinas I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self) https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Neurons-Rodolfo-R-Llinas/dp/02...
on “Autism's Four Core Subtypes” ↗