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From: roger@yuba.wrs.com (Roger Rohrbach)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re^2: "self" consciousness
Keywords: philosophy
Message-ID: <847@wrs.wrs.com>
Date: 3 Feb 90 21:07:22 GMT
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mfinegan@uceng.UC.EDU (michael k finegan) writes:

> warning: I am extremely dogmatic

    Fortunately, the pursuit of knowledge respects no dogma and the history
of science is littered with the shattered remnants of same.


> I am sorry, but you are arguing from false reference. Ouspensky (et al) talk
> specifically about raising consciousness levels until out of body experiences
> are achieved, and believe that higher levels of consciousness include states
> of immortality. If you don't think that is far-fetched, that is your right.

    You'd have to locate the "out-of-body" stuff for me- must have missed it.
There is a discussion of "immortality"- as a relative concept.  E.g., there
is light reaching the earth from close to the beginning of time.  This light
has been around awhile :-)  The physicist Geoffrey Chew hazards the opinion
that light and consciousness are aspects of the same phenonomenon.  I'm looking
at a conference announcement right now with invited presentations on "A Quantum
Theory of Consciousness" and "A Trans-Temporal Apporach to Mind-Brain Inter-
action".  Yes, it all sounds far-fetched.  What of it?


> But, is dreaming a lower level of consciousness than watching 'Wheel of
> Fortune' ? I don't think you can answer that question, empirically, or
> otherwise. Moral: consciousness is in the eye of the beholder.

"Watching 'Wheel of Fortune'" is not a "level of consciousness".  It is an
activity involving sensory input, intellectual processing (not much!), and
emotional stimulation,  all of which can occur with varying degrees of
consciousness (my original point: consciousness as distinct from thought,
feeling, etc.).  If you were implying that watching 'Wheel of Fortune'
*evinces* a low level of consciousness,  I might agree.  If I were dozing
on the couch, it would probably become "background noise"; were I paying
attention, I would quickly discern the "signal" and, realizing its low
information content, switch off the TV!
Roger Rohrbach                                  sun!wrs!roger    roger@wrs.com
- Eddie sez: ----------------------------------------------- (c) 1986, 1990 -.
|   {o >o                                                                     |
|    \<>) "My head is my only house unless it rains."                         |