tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post5712301576625090767..comments2024-03-28T13:23:50.623-05:00Comments on Alexander Pruss's Blog: Physicalism and ethical significanceAlexander R Prusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-89571175435103699882018-02-20T04:22:39.973-06:002018-02-20T04:22:39.973-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Philip Randhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09143527524267821692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-35239496811049063542018-02-20T02:58:12.893-06:002018-02-20T02:58:12.893-06:00... and you do see that the moving around (in cert...... and you <b>do</b> see that the moving around (in certain ways, as specified in tomes) of cards with obscure symbols on them (i.e. Chinese) does not <i>of itself</i> (i.e. by magic) summon into being a spirit with certain attributes (i.e. awareness of Chinese), I presume ...Martin Cookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11425491938517935179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-37304127692851977642018-02-20T02:39:33.135-06:002018-02-20T02:39:33.135-06:00We do seem to be, in a sense, machines made of che...We do seem to be, in a sense, machines made of chemical cogs, each with a soul of a sort that makes it be alive; but we do, surely, have intuitions that Chalmers' zombies would not be alive (except in the biological sense), that they would not be aware.Martin Cookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11425491938517935179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-73580917196843742572018-02-20T01:18:15.716-06:002018-02-20T01:18:15.716-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Philip Randhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09143527524267821692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-13393285443544749552018-02-20T00:28:53.744-06:002018-02-20T00:28:53.744-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Philip Randhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09143527524267821692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-76105314041486597902018-02-20T00:16:11.355-06:002018-02-20T00:16:11.355-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Philip Randhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09143527524267821692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-19008955344904829332018-02-19T12:52:15.526-06:002018-02-19T12:52:15.526-06:00I don't see why a machine made of cogs couldn&...I don't see why a machine made of cogs couldn't have a soul of a sort that makes it be alive.Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-36683523355429901512018-02-19T12:36:20.218-06:002018-02-19T12:36:20.218-06:00Is 4 less clear because the switches in modern com...Is 4 less clear because the switches in modern computers are so small?<br />Surely a machine made of cogs is not alive/aware.<br />Similarly, Searle's Chinese Room is not haunted by a spirit called into being by the moving of cards with Chinese writing on them.<br />But of course, the size of the switches should not make such a difference.<br />So, I don't see why 4 should be less clear ...Martin Cookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11425491938517935179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-15612270896760372552018-02-19T09:35:26.096-06:002018-02-19T09:35:26.096-06:00The life thing is interesting. I guess in the vici...The life thing is interesting. I guess in the vicinity is this argument:<br /><br />1. Only the wellbeing of living things has moral significance.<br />2. If you can suffer pain, your wellbeing has moral significance.<br />3. So, only living things can suffer pain.<br />4. Computers cannot be alive.<br />5. So, computers cannot suffer pain.<br /><br />Myself, I don't believe 1, unless perhaps one has a very broad sense of life, a sense sufficient to encompass disembodied beings (e.g., angels). But if one has such a broad sense of life, then 4 is less clear.Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-17724657077707723312018-02-18T06:44:27.733-06:002018-02-18T06:44:27.733-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Philip Randhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09143527524267821692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-44004125942206936702018-02-18T05:38:36.281-06:002018-02-18T05:38:36.281-06:00Philip
I meant aware, that it is not aware
sorry...Philip<br /><br />I meant aware, that it is not aware<br /><br />sorryMartin Cookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11425491938517935179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-30384700741169786162018-02-18T05:27:20.003-06:002018-02-18T05:27:20.003-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Philip Randhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09143527524267821692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-11008647042867233542018-02-17T12:35:59.433-06:002018-02-17T12:35:59.433-06:00I don't think it does, because we all have the...I don't think it does, because we all have the intuition that a machine is not alive, and we then have to somehow trump that intuition, if we are physicalists, with the thought that if physicalism is true then some machines are alive; it is not that we need to be dualists to have those intuitions. (Of course, all logic takes us to something that we already had.)<br /><br />Those are fascinating intuitions though: why <i>do</i> we think that the physical is like that, like rocks and metal gears and such? We see phenomenal stuff, imbued with meaning and much of it alive! Is it the success of chemistry and physics? I don't know (so I have a similar worry).Martin Cookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11425491938517935179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-59459821493796989112018-02-17T05:00:00.087-06:002018-02-17T05:00:00.087-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Philip Randhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09143527524267821692noreply@blogger.com