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Re:Is Matter Conscious? (2017) by visarga on Monday February 25, 2019 @01:12PM (#19247854)
I'd say an important part of consciousness is learning. Without learning we would not even be able to make sense of what is in front of our eyes. A particle doesn't learn, so it can't be conscious.
Re:Is Matter Conscious? (2017) by CuriouslyC on Monday February 25, 2019 @01:30PM (#19248049)
What is learning?

A particle responds to its environment. A system of particles reconfigures itself in response to the environment, sometimes in a persistent way. That's all your brain is doing when it "learns"

Re:Is Matter Conscious? (2017) by visarga on Tuesday February 26, 2019 @01:33AM (#19252408)
Yes, while being threatened with extinction if they do it wrong. That's the key ingredient - self replication and natural selection. Keeps the learning honest to reality.