Instigator / Pro
0
1476
rating
4
debates
25.0%
won
Topic
#728

Consciousness is an emergent property of matter

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
0
15
Better sources
0
10
Better legibility
0
5
Better conduct
0
5

After 5 votes and with 35 points ahead, the winner is...

DrChristineFord
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
4
Time for argument
Three days
Max argument characters
12,000
Voting period
One month
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
35
1532
rating
2
debates
100.0%
won
Description

"Emergence" occurs when an entity is observed to have properties its parts do not have on their own. These properties or behaviors emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole. For example, culture is an emergent behavior of individual people working together, anthills are an emergent property of individual ants working together.

My goal is to show that consciousness is an emergent property of matter. If this is true then it is theoretically possible to build consciousness.

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@RationalMadman

That's just an appeal to authority. Truth isn't true because Harvard says so. A Truism debate would be something that has to be true based on the topic like "I like ice cream" or "rational madman's screenname is rational Madman"

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@Wrick-It-Ralph

It doesn't matter what it could be, this debate is going to revolve around reliable sources and intuitive arguments. Pro will annihilate Con's scepticism, by using highly reputable sources such as Harvard themselves.

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@RationalMadman

that's not true because it could be reductive

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@Wrick-It-Ralph

It's a truism, not a debate.

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@MrMaestro

Man, I wish someone would accept this, lol

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@MrMaestro

Indeed. We can't help what we believe. We can only make more inductions to improve the basis upon which we think.

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@Wrick-It-Ralph

Ralph:
"Everything is particles" is a much pithier way of saying this haha. We see the same on this issue. I look at consciousness as a spectrum, from barely aware animals to highly aware apes. I don't think there's an exact point where something becomes conscious, rather I think awareness develops slowly as you add more intelligence.

RationalMadman:
Thanks for the source. I wouldn't claim it as "My argument" though, the Emergence of Consciousness is a pretty well-researched topic.

Some people believe that matter arises out of consciousness. Some people believe that reality only exists if we experience it. Some people believe that consciousness exists separately from matter. Many arguments are possible.

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@RationalMadman

Oh good, if that's the case, then you're completely illogical and everything you say is just mouth noise. Have a nice delusion.

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@MrMaestro

The only difference for me that I see going of your title and description is that I believe consciousness is a property of one or more particles.

Everything I'm about to say is just my opinion except for the very next statement I make.

Everything that has been known to physically exist is made from particles.

Following this logical, it is my opinion that consciousness is in contained within a particle.

There is good scientific evidence that consciousness comes from the brain.

This ultimately leads into my presupposition that consciousness starts off as this small fuzzy thing that has it's on "agent" inside of it viewing things at a primitive level.

I don't know what this would feel like, but I tend to equate it to what a blind person sees or what a deaf person hears (which is not nothing)

I think this is a good example because these are cases of the sensory organs being detached from one's agency so if agency was in a particle and the particle had no sensory organs, I imagine the senses would be like static, which is what people missing sensory organs experience.

I believe that human minds are just big collections of these primitive particles.

Now don't confuse this with a nerve ending.

This would be more like a part that is somehow connect at the end of the line of sensation.

I think it makes more sense because our body is not just one living thing. It's a collection of living things and our senses are not this linear thing that happens in order, it's this big chaotic mass of sensations that we somehow feel with near perfect precision.

Senses are so keen that having something within 10 feet of you can have enough effect for you to sense it even if you don't look at it or hear it.

I'm not saying this is true.

I'm just saying that after looking at all of the evidence for myself, I have come to believe this and I cannot bring myself to not believe it.

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@Wrick-It-Ralph

Because you are all extensions of my solipsist reality.

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@RationalMadman

I've seen that link before. How do you know that's his argument?

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@Wrick-It-Ralph

Here is his argument, in someone else's words:

https://www.sciencealert.com/harvard-scientists-think-they-ve-pinpointed-the-neural-source-of-consciousness

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@MrMaestro

Me and your are 100% on the same page here. I go with the softer topic of "everything is particles" But this is ultimately what my argument leads to. Can't wait to hear your points.