"Ever since David Hume declared in the 18th century that the Self is only a heap of perceptions, the poor Ego has been in a shaky conditions indeed...Mind and consciousness becomes dispensable items in our accounts of reality, ghosts in the bodily ma "Ever since David Hume declared in the 18th century that the Self is only a heap of perceptions, the poor Ego has been in a shaky conditions indeed...Mind and consciousness becomes dispensable items in our accounts of reality, ghosts in the bodily machine...Yet there are indications here and there that the tide may be tuming...and the appearance of The Mind's I, edited by Douglas R. Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett, seems a welcome sign of change." -William Barrett, The New York Times Book Review
From some of the 20th century's greatest thinkers, essays on topics as diverse as artificial intelligence, evolution, science fiction, philosophy, reductionism, and consciousness With contributions from Jorge Luis Borges, Richard Dawkins, John Searle, and Robert Nozick, The Mind's I explores the meaning of self and consciousness through the perspectives of literature, artificial intelligence, psychology, and other disciplines. In selections that range from fiction to scientific speculations about thinking machines, artificial intelligence, and the nature of the brain, Hofstadter and Dennett present a variety of conflicting visions of the self and the soul as explored through the writings of some of the twentieth century's most renowned thinkers.
Douglas Hofstadter is College Professor of Cognitive Science and Computer Science, director of the Center for Research on Concepts and Cognition, and adjunct professor of philosophy, psychology, history and philosophy of science, and comparative literature at Indiana University. Daniel C. Dennett is Distinguished Arts and Sciences Professor, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. ...Continua Nascondi
always hard to rate a book that i can't totally understand. but it really is a great anthology of the thinkers on the mind, the consciousness, the "i".
The answer to the question "Where am I?" has survival value. So, evolution will favour those perceptions of self which give an advantage to the perceiver. I need to know where I am to defend myself from the attack of a beast.
If my body would be severed from my brain, it could serve me better to perceive myself where my brain is even if my point of view (visually) is between my eyes, on top of my body.
Other times, it could rather be better to think of myself as being where my body is. Or, why not, in both places!
...we use words such as "want," "think," "try," and "hope," to describe chess programs and other attempts at mechanical thought. Dennett calls this kind of level switch by the observer "adopting the intentional stance." The really interesting things...we use words such as "want," "think," "try," and "hope," to describe chess programs and other attempts at mechanical thought. Dennett calls this kind of level switch by the observer "adopting the intentional stance." The really interesting things in AI will only begin to happen [...] when the program itself adopts the intentional stance toward itself....Continua Nascondi
The works and customs of mankind do not seem to be very suitable material to which to apply scientific induction. A very large part of space-time must be investigated, if reliable results are to be obtained. Otherwise we may (as most English childrenThe works and customs of mankind do not seem to be very suitable material to which to apply scientific induction. A very large part of space-time must be investigated, if reliable results are to be obtained. Otherwise we may (as most English children do) decide that everybody speaks English, and that it is silly to learn French....Continua Nascondi
Original quote from [Daedalus, 87, 99 (1958)]: "The laws of nature which we formulate mathematically in quantum theory deal no longer with the particles themselves but with our knowledge of the elementary particles."
