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by RobertRies 708 days ago
Emergent property of a sophisticated brain (with it's own weaknesses).

But even if I didn't have a more compelling explanation, that doesn't mean I can't be highly critical of, or reach a conclusion that panpsychicism is highly unlikely to be approaching a good explanation.
2 comments
mistermann 707 days ago
> it presupposes that the configuration of the brain, and inputs isn't fundamentally the constituents of consciousness.

For clarity: are all the things you've said above your opinion, or are you presenting then as facts (which was my interpretation)?

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llamaimperative 708 days ago
Sure! Now define “brain”
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RobertRies 708 days ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_brain

But also, see the rest of my comment. The onus is not on me to arrive with a better explanation just because there's a bad explanation on the table.

If I come home and find a cookie on my counter, and someone said "I think that a space alien teleported the cookie there" and I said "I think that's unlikely to be the correct explanation." And then that person asked "Well, what's a better explanation?" and I said "Maybe someone broke into my apartment, felt guilty, and left a cookie there." and then grilled me on that counter-explanation.

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llamaimperative 708 days ago
Well I agree with that, I only asked what the better explanation is because you said it’s “not currently the best explanation.”

So far I don’t think you’ve shared a better one, and I don’t think you think you have either.

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RobertRies 708 days ago
I genuinely think emergent property of sophisticated brain is much closer to the correct explanation than panpsychism in terms of usefulness, predictive power, etc., and likelihood of getting closer to a satisfying answer. On the other hand, I'm not prepared to defend every aspect of that hypothesis. I am, however, prepared to criticize panpsychism.
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llamaimperative 708 days ago
Well sure, and I think if you embarked on the project of defining “emergent property” and “brain,” you’d probably find your way back to panpsychism.

If you try it and end up somewhere else, let me know! I’d be genuinely interested to hear about it.

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RobertRies 708 days ago
Erm, I have embarked on this, and I have absolutely not arrived back to panpsychism.

My conclusion is that panpsychism is god of the gaps for consciousness right now.

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