Timeline for Is it possible that non-living systems possess consciousness?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
30 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Oct 28, 2023 at 15:51 | answer | added | Meanach | timeline score: 0 | |
| Oct 27, 2023 at 13:37 | comment | added | Meanach | Thanks for the frame challenge. My question is about non-living consciousness, if it exists. I am not referring to self-consciousness in this context. I know that I have self-consciousness, and so do you and every other human being. It is possible that other organisms have it. As regards putative non-living consciousness, I refer to some level of self-awareness as manifested in behaviour. I cite quantum entanglement as a possible example. I agree that some so-called definitions are prolix, illogical, irrational, and useless. Brevity is the soul of wit. Cogito ergo sum. | |
| Oct 26, 2023 at 19:24 | comment | added | Robbie Goodwin | Very basic frame challenge: How is 'consciousness' not one of the clearest definitions of 'life' or 'living'? Are you making a difference between 'simple…' and 'self-consciousness' or not? The last definition of consciousness I fell asleep over was 800 pages long. | |
| Oct 25, 2023 at 16:10 | answer | added | Sam Dahan | timeline score: 2 | |
| Oct 25, 2023 at 9:42 | comment | added | Meanach | Non-living systems may not have subjective experience, but awareness of awareness. This may also apply to living collectives, such as slime moulds. | |
| Oct 25, 2023 at 9:35 | vote | accept | Meanach | ||
| Oct 25, 2023 at 9:20 | comment | added | Jo Wehler | @CriglCragl For a definition of "consciousness" see the quote in my answer below. For a definition of "living" choose one from a textbook on biology; a general accepted definition does not exist. - But I think the OP does not only asks a question of definition. | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 20:17 | answer | added | Chris Sunami | timeline score: 1 | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 20:01 | comment | added | JimmyJames | You might be interested in this article: wired.com/story/… | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 19:32 | answer | added | Dcleve | timeline score: 2 | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 19:14 | answer | added | Meanach | timeline score: 0 | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 18:34 | comment | added | J D | I think the question stands on a vague notion of consciousness. It's not a meaningless question, it is merely fairly broad since no canonical definition of consciousness exists to narrow the focus. Broad questions aren't meaningless, they're just vague to some degree, and I stand by the claim that those are just the questions philosophers try to answer. On this site, it means responding according to a competing definition from the cannon. | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 18:33 | history | edited | J D | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Oct 24, 2023 at 18:10 | history | edited | J D |
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| Oct 24, 2023 at 17:55 | comment | added | HelloGoodbye | As CriglCragl hinted, you basically have the same problem of definition when it comes to life, and it may even be the case that what we define as living are things that we think have consciousness. If not, what is the fundamental difference between life and consciousness? | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 14:59 | comment | added | dotancohen | Does a submarine swim? | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 14:51 | answer | added | Peter - Reinstate Monica | timeline score: 0 | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 13:21 | answer | added | ZioByte | timeline score: 1 | |
| Oct 24, 2023 at 7:58 | comment | added | N A McMahon | What is consciousness? I think that is the open question right now. If you choose the right definition then your phone could probably be considered conscious, but is that what you want your definition to include. And what is life? If you require self replicating then we could just choose a sterile person and you have your answer | |
| Oct 23, 2023 at 23:32 | history | became hot network question | |||
| Oct 23, 2023 at 23:09 | comment | added | Conifold | Despite the vagueness of "consciousness" and "life", "if conscious then alive" seems pretty close to analytic truth on common meaning of those words. Panpsychists attribute some sort of proto-consciousness to all objects, animate or inanimate. Then the question becomes whether one is also a panvitalist, i.e. attributes some sort of proto-life to all of them as well, which seems natural. | |
| Oct 23, 2023 at 22:51 | comment | added | CriglCragl | Define 'living', & 'consciousness', & you'll have your answer. | |
| Oct 23, 2023 at 18:42 | answer | added | Annika | timeline score: 12 | |
| Oct 23, 2023 at 18:26 | comment | added | Jo Wehler | @Mauro ALLEGRANZA To come to terms with consciousness is to ask nature. To pose questions to nature means to design experiments about mental processes. Such experiments check and correct our prejudices. And that’s what neuroscience does with some success. - I know that’s only a rough picture of scientific progress :-) | |
| Oct 23, 2023 at 17:48 | answer | added | Dheeraj Verma | timeline score: 0 | |
| Oct 23, 2023 at 16:42 | review | Close votes | |||
| Nov 3, 2023 at 3:08 | |||||
| Oct 23, 2023 at 16:25 | answer | added | Jo Wehler | timeline score: 6 | |
| Oct 23, 2023 at 15:44 | comment | added | Mauro ALLEGRANZA | It is hard to answer, mainly due to the fact that we do not know what consciousness is for living creature. | |
| S Oct 23, 2023 at 15:31 | review | First questions | |||
| Oct 23, 2023 at 16:29 | |||||
| S Oct 23, 2023 at 15:31 | history | asked | Meanach | CC BY-SA 4.0 |