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Re:Is Matter Conscious? (2017) by trixie_ on Sunday February 24, 2019 @11:26PM (#19242924)
Given what artificial neural networks are already capable of, it shouldn't seem like a magic trick what our own brains are capable of (from the outside).

The hang up is on the inside right? You have an essence to your consciousness experience that you believe a fly, bacteria, rock, computer, artificial neural network may or may not have.

Panpsychism does answer that question by saying yes, they all have some sliver of consciousness. Two atoms bumping together at some level experience the interaction.

I agree the theory doesn't have answers as to how or what the essence of consciousness is. But I definitely seeing it as a stepping stone towards that goal.

Re:Is Matter Conscious? (2017) by dEnigma on Monday February 25, 2019 @12:28AM (#19243234)
Simply answering a question with "Yes" without providing evidence or a deeper explanation seems pretty useless and like no additional knowledge was gained.
Re:Is Matter Conscious? (2017) by trixie_ on Monday February 25, 2019 @02:23AM (#19243715)
Pansychism seems to explain a lot of the hard questions. Even without a deeper understanding than 'there is a single conscious and you are a piece of it', simply thinking that way changes the understanding of life/death. You are unknowingly everyone. Punching a guy is on some level punching yourself. The afterlife is irrelevant, when you die you go on existing as the other 7 billion humans, plus animals, etc... This is why philosophers and neuroscientists alike a so excited about the idea and writing papers about it.
Re:Is Matter Conscious? (2017) by sgt101 on Monday February 25, 2019 @02:30AM (#19243752)
I'm curious, could you list the things that you think Anns can do that underpin your argument?