Holism Reduction Consciousness Final

7/25/2019 Holism Reduction Consciousness Final

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Holism, Reduction and

ConsciousnessAnand Rangarajan

Dept. of Computer and InformationScience and Engineering

University of lorida


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Holism and Reductionism

Relations!ip stranger t!an normally conceived

Source" !ttp"##a$yss.uoregon.edu#%js#images#!olis


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Holism and Emergence

&resent day science recasts !olismas systems t!in'ing System is a dynamic, comple( )!ole

Structurally and functionally integrated

E(!i$its comple( $e!avior

Emergent properties not easily predicted

in advance Dominant t!eme in modern $iology


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Universe as a dynamicalsystem

Science conceives of universe as adynamical system )it! statesevolving since $ig $ang

Emergent properties of universeinclude us" $odies and minds

Universe as its o)n simulation

*!ere is consciousness in all t!is+


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E(perience and t!e p!ysical

*orld of $iology sits on top of t!ep!ysical

o ontological gap $et)een $iology and

t!e p!ysical

-ife is just a set of functionsimplemented $y an evolving universe

Almost everyt!ing is logicallysupervenienton t!e p!ysical

E(ception" E(perience


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-ay criticisms

Intelligent design" -ife is somet!ing over and$eyond p!ysical Confusion over comple(ity and t!e )ord t!eory/

0ainly driven $y traditional religion a1ve and unsop!isticated in t!e e(treme

e) age and ne) paradigm" Holism issomet!ing over and $eyond emergence

Confusion over emergence 0ainly driven $y traditional mysticism

-ess na1ve $ut e2ually vague


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Consciousness

Consciousness not reduci$le to t!ep!ysical

Emergence only capa$le of producing

novel functional properties out ofstarting states

&ro$lem of consciousness 2ualitatively

di3erent from t!e pro$lem of life Intentionality and 2ualia create pro$lems

for present day scienti4c )orldvie)


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C!almers and Stra)son

iousness not logically supervenient on t!e p!ysical C!alm

istic p!ysicalism entails panpsyc!ism Stra)son 8997/

agree )it! $ot! $ut not in t!e )ay you mig!t t!in'


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Responses

Radical emergence" 0ind emerges from $rain

Even t!oug! mind is an ontologically di3erent

type from $rain matter/, radical emergence!olds

:uestion $egging

*orldvie) pro$a$ly !eld $y majority of

scientists today *ant to postpone discussion of

consciousness until ;$rain pro$lem< is solved


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our Approac!es

0atter

-ife

0ind,

Culture

0atter 0ystery ingredient =

-ife

0ind and Culture

0atter

-ife

0ind,Culture

>ra!man

>ra!man

0atter and &roto?&!enomenal

-ife 0ind

Radical Emergence

Dual?aspect panpsyc!ism

on?reductive p!ysicalism

Idealism


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&anpsyc!ism

urious recent $attle $et)een radicalemergence and panpsyc!ism

&!ysicalism implies panpsyc!ism"Stra)son

Return mind to traditional premodernposition" fundamental aspect ofnature

Assumes too muc!

Com$ination pro$lem


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Idealism

>er'eley and @edanta varieties

*orld of matter emanates from>ra!man

&anpsyc!ism seen as a variant ofidealism

*orld as virtual reality 0atri(/ andnot merely illusory not e(ploited

-ac' of di3erentiation $et)eenmysticism and idealism in Indictraditions


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on?reductive p!ysicalism

Russellian p!ysicalism

Dual?aspect t!eory

Ignorance Stoljar/ and inscruta$les0ontero/

Categorical versus dispositionaldistinction

Um$rella termductive p!ysicalism preferred $ecause of its open ended n


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0editative p!enomenology

rdinary 2ualia" Sensation, perception,emotion, cognition, visualiBation

0editative p!enomenology" Hindu and

>udd!ist traditions agree on importanceof a)areness

A)areness leads to non?ordinary state in

)!ic! self#)orld $oundary recon4gured 0oments of a)areness 0oA/" evidence

of construction of self or su$ject


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&!ysicalism =

A ne) ingredient in order toaccommodate e(perience

Desiderata" 0ust lead to nature )it! interior

Dynamic and temporally end?stopped

on?mec!anistic

ot mere addition of p!enomenology Intentionality and 2ualia logically

supervenient on p!ysicalism =


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les!ing out t!e ne)ingredient

Set of $asic p!ysical entities assert ane) relation" A0A naturalcategoryF

-o) level p!ysical facts $ecomeconditioned on A0A assertions ofmem$ers!ip

atural categories need to e(ist $utcan evolve

Creation of interior

A0A mem$ers!ip relation is


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atural categories

Does t!e electron decide t!at itGs anelectron+

Static categories and 4(edmem$ers!ip in science ta(onomyand ta(idermy/

Evolving categories and dynamicmem$ers!ip" Emergent categories+

acts relative to A0A categoryF"Semantics

acts interior to A0A categoryF"


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A0A @isualiBation

A0A is dynamic, non?mec!anistic

Categories can evolve

A0A mem$ers!ip restrictsset of possi$ilities for $asic elemen

Return of Holism


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&roperties

A0A natural categoryF idea dra)nfrom a)areness state

Self and su$ject missing in oldp!ysical

-o) level facts interpreted in lig!t ofA0A mem$ers!ip" 0eaning or

semantics

Hig! level facts occurring in ne)lyformed interior" :ualia


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Discussion

Emergence and comple(ity insucientfor consciousness

on?reductive p!ysicalism em$raced

e) mysterious ingredient = needed

A0A natural categoryF proposed

e) !olism concept separate from

emergence and comple(ity Creation of an interior" Intentionality and

:ualia

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Holism Reduction Consciousness Final