Sunday, August 17, 2008

Self-Awareness

Because I didn't know.

Consciousness or a test of consciousness is often considered to be self-awareness.

I was reading the preview of this. It uses a great abbreviation, whirr-click. When a turkey hears the chirp-chirp of turkey chicks, whirr-click, it plays the mothering tape, regardless of all other factors.

But if it were self-aware, it would be able to observe its reaction. Now, since physicalism is (mostly) true, to be self-aware is to have a test for self-awareness. So, a self-aware turkey would be able to tell when its habit was leading it astray. "Why am I mothering a stuffed cat doll?" The test would be the turkey going, "I am going to stop."

And that is self-awareness.

I still think the fact that house flies have recognizable emotions fairly strongly supports the conclusion that nearly everything with a brain is conscious.

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