HON 294: On the Human:

Final Review

Gary Comstock

Professor of Philosophy

Fall 2009, NC State University

Overview

1. Course goals

2.Analyzing arguments

3.Humans and persons

4.Animals

5.Machines

1. Course goals

The goal of this course is to deepen our understanding of the human using philosophical and scientific modes of inquiry.

1. Course goals

We focus on human singularity: the properties, if any, that make us superior to nonhuman animals and cyborgs. It's a commonplace to think humans are unique in a variety of ways.

Only we have music, language, reason, free will, souls, religion, empathy, altruism, social cooperation, reciprocity, self-consciousness, ability to use tools, or lead autobiographical lives.

But do all of us have all of the properties? Might some animals--other mammals, birds, even fish--have some of them? Might future learning machines acquire one or another? If we possess these properties are we therefore morally superior to those who lack them? If so, why? If not, why not?

Course goalsAs a result of learning the material in this course you will be able to:

1.Identify, reconstruct, interpret, and analyze complex arguments about the meaning of human life

2.Understand fundamental issues crossing academicdisciplines

3.Distinguish degrees of plausibility and verification bycritically examining evidence and logic

4.Answer questions about controversies concerning themeaning of being human

Dr. Miguel Nicolelis

First microchip implanted in monkey’s brain, 2003

”Monkeys Consciously Control a Robot Arm Using Only Brain Signals; Appear to ‘Assimilate’ Arm As If it Were Their Own”

Paradigm case:

Humans,Animals,Machines

OvervieOverviewwA. What is a human being?

B. Which conditions are necessary and sufficient to be a person?

1. Human mother & father2. Human DNA3. Sentient4. Use tools5. Emotions6. Empathy7. Theory of mind8. Altruism9. Biographical lives10. Self-consciousness

C. Do we have physical causes (scientism, Melnyk, Rosenberg) or not (dualism, Goetz & Taliaferro, Kass)?

11. Semantics12. Higher order

experiences12. Artistic creativity13. Political institutions14. Sense of justice15. Judicial institutions16. Autobiographical

lives

What is a What is a human human being?being?

1. We are souls with purpose and meaning.

Contention: "Scientism is robbing persons of their souls”

- Leon Kass, “Keeping Life Human”

2. We are not souls; we lack purpose and meaning.

Contention: "Darwinism proves there are no souls and life is meaningless”

- Alex Rosenberg, “Darwin’s Nice Nihilism”

Singular = unique, one of a kind, Singular = unique, one of a kind, irreplaceableirreplaceable

1. Why are individual humans singular?1. Why are individual humans singular?

No one else has your:No one else has your:

Mother and fatherMother and father DNADNA BodyBody SoulSoul Personal identityPersonal identity

Unique Individuals

You are irreplaceable.You are irreplaceable.

No one else has your:No one else has your:

DNA ? Monozygotic twins

Unique IndividualsUnique Individuals

You are irreplaceable.You are irreplaceable.

No one else has your:No one else has your:

Body Body ?? Dicephaly

SingularitSingularityyThe Immaterial Soul:

1. I am not my DNA, my body, or my brain.

2. I am my spiritual essence, the part of me that thinks and feels, remembers and hopes--the immaterial self that perceives and is affected by and acts on the material world.

3. I am incorporeal, not necessarily causally tied to my body or bound by the operations of my brain.

Unique IndividualsUnique Individuals

You are irreplaceable.You are irreplaceable.

No one else has your:No one else has your:

Soul Soul ??

SingularitSingularityy

Drunken sailors

Problem 1 with dualistic soul:

Chemicals introduced to the brain invariably cause the self to shut down.

SoulsSouls

Deep brain stimulation

Problem 2 with dualistic soul:

Electrical stimulus to brain Area 25 causes previously untreatable depression to lift.

Dualistic accounts of human identity face 2 problems

Problem 1: Chemical

Alcohol impairs thinking and diminishes brain function. Dualism is not a convincing explanation of the fact that there is a causal connection between the time alcohol enters the drinker’s brain and the time the drinker’s mental functions are impaired. Or when alcohol leaves the brain and mental function is restored.

Problem 2: Physiological

Severe damage to the prefrontal cortex of the brain results invariably in severe damage to a person’s ability temporally to order information and, thus, plan future activities. Dualism is not the best explanation of such facts.

Humans are Humans are personspersons

Persons are irreplaceable.Persons are irreplaceable.

No one else has your:No one else has your:

Autobiographical identityAutobiographical identity??

SingularitSingularityy

A person is an embodied mind, a brain that can control its narrative identity and bodily behavior according to reasons.

1. A first-person psychologically continuous nonbranching point of view from which one exercises control over one's

2. Second order representations, such as beliefs and desires, allowing one to

3. Craft strong narrative connections to integrate relationships of cause and effect among retrospective and prospective mental states of multi-year duration

4. Ability to use one or more socially learned communicative mechanisms

a. Language, for the autobiographical elements: Darwin, ‘Autobiography’

b. Pictures, for the autobiopictorial elements Grandin, “Thinking in Pictures’

c. Music, for the autobiorythmic elements Baggs, “In My Language”

5. To teach other embodied minds domain-general competencies thereby

6. Forming auto-generated publicly accessible accounts (e.g., autobiographies, autobiopicturies, autobiorthymies) of one's prospective mental states

7. Expressing one's intentions to achieve long-term categorical interests

8. Evoking moral emotions in others

Near-persons

Psychological continuities whose temporal horizons--their memories and anticipations--are much shorter and simpler than those of persons.

HM, Harry Molaison 1926-2008

• Severe amnesia

• Lives in the present

• Able to retain a learned skill for 3 days without remembering that he’d performed it previously

Amnesia - associated brain regions

Medial temporal lobe amnesia

Damage to the hippocampal formation, uncus, amygdala, and surrounding temporal pole and cortical areas

Far-persons

Humans with severe deficiencies in control, psychological complexity, theory of mind, temporal horizons, etc.

Victor of Aveyron

Non-persons

Human bodies without minds, that is, lacking all executive function, control, temporal horizon, psychological continuity, etc.

Zachariah Kupfer?

Nancy Cruzan?

Terry Schiavo?

Might animals be near persons, embodied minds Might animals be near persons, embodied minds with limited temporal horizons?with limited temporal horizons?

Might a pig think about an event several days or Might a pig think about an event several days or weeks in its past, or anticipate tomorrow? weeks in its past, or anticipate tomorrow? Have both the memory and an appreciation of Have both the memory and an appreciation of the memory’s worth?the memory’s worth?

Might a pig appreciate the goods in her life and Might a pig appreciate the goods in her life and want to do something with or about them?want to do something with or about them?

Oreo makes a nestOreo makes a nest

Past (memories, for example, of pain or conspecifics)?

Future (anticipations, desires)?

Strong direct psychological connectedness over days?

Which animals feel pain?

Sentience = The capacity for phenomenally conscious suffering and/or enjoyment

NociceptorsCentral nervous systemsEndogenous opiodsPain behaviors analogous to humans’Analgesics effective in modifying pain behaviors

+ + + + + --

Response to damaging stimuli analogous to humans'

+ + ? ? ? ? ? Responses modified by analgesics

+ + + + ? + + Endogenous opiodspresent

+ + + + + --

Nociceptorsconnected to central nervous system

+ + + + + --Central nervous system

+ + - / ? - / ? ? -? Nociceptorspresent

Mammals Birds HerpsFish Cepha-lopods

Insects Earth-worms

VERTEBRATES INVERTEBRATES

+ + + + + --

Response to damaging stimuli analogous to humans'

+ + ? ? ? ? ? Responses modified by analgesics

+ + + + ? + + Endogenous opioidspresent

+ + + + + --

Nociceptorsconnected to central nervous system

+ + + + + --Central nervous system

+ + - / ? - / ? ? -? Nociceptorspresent

Mammals Birds HerpsFish Cepha-lopods

Insects Earth-worms

VERTEBRATES INVERTEBRATES

Which animals feel pain?

Probably: MammalsBirds

Reptiles and amphibiansFish

Probably not: InsectsEarthworms

That is, probably: All vertebratesNo invertebrates

http://www-phil.tamu.edu/~gary/awvar/lecture/pain.html

Self-Recognition in Apes (HQ).avi

Are dolphins self-aware_ - part 2_3 (HQ).aviORIGINAL Elephant Painting (HQ) 1,00-2,50 tail 4,50-6,00.avi

Which animals have self-consciousness?

-> Mirror test

Monkeys NoBottle-nose dolphins ?Great apes YesElephants Yes

Which animals act altruistically?

-> Rope test: Chimps

1930’s Nissen and Crawford Study, Yerkes archives (2 minutes)

http://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/av/nissencrawford_cut.mov

Which animals are near-persons?

Probably: Chimpanzees, dolphins,elephants, octopi

Perhaps: All mammalsSome birds

Probably not: Reptiles and amphibians

Fish

http://www-phil.tamu.edu/~gary/awvar/lecture/pain.html

ConclusionConclusion2.2. Why does personhood matter?Why does personhood matter?

Human singularity claims seem to support the sanctity of life ethic:

• All humans have moral standing, including human zygotes, embryos, those with advanced Alzheimer’s, the severely congenitally cognitively impaired, the brain dead and, for many writers, corpses.

• Only humans have moral standing: nonhuman animals may be used as instruments, within bounds, to serve our purposes.

And the sanctity of human life ethic seems to imply human superiority:

• Extensive protections for humans used in agriculture and research (Institutional Review Boards).

• Extensive permissions for animals in agriculture and research and agriculture (100 million hogs killed in US per year).

But if some humans are near and far-persons and some animals are near and far-persons, then the singularity, sanctity and superiority of the human is unjustifiable.

• Animals would have to have more extensive protections in agriculture and research

• Vegetarianism might be required.

MachineMachiness

Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence

What are the implications of What are the implications of superiority for the future?superiority for the future?

Would post-Singularity cyborgs superior to us be justified in treating us the way we treat animals?

Course evaluationDid the use of Austhink Rationale software help you to achieve course goals?

1.Identify, reconstruct, interpret, and analyze complex arguments about the meaning of human life

• Bringing visual clarity to complex issues

• Teaching critical thinking using diagramming techniques

• Helping you to understand complicated disagreements

more rigorously and deeply

Evaluate

Did Rationale help you to:

2. Understand fundamental issues crossing academicdisciplines?

3. Distinguish degrees of plausibility and verification bycritically examining evidence and logic?

4. Answer questions about controversies concerning themeaning of being human?