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1
Consciousness, Free Will, and Singularity
What Philosophy has to Say about it.
2
Neuroscience and Philosophy
Recent Developments in Neuroscience• Focus on issues, relevant for human self-image
Consciousness, self-consciousness, free will
• Solution of old philosophical problems?Free will, self-consciousness as illusions
3
Neuroscience and Philosophy
Philosophical issues• Historical background• Conceptual questions, criteria
What do we mean if we talk about consciousness, intelligence, freedom?
• Ethical issuesCriminal law, responsibility in everyday situations
4
Neuroscience and Philosophy
Empirical issues• Are these standards met? • Do we have the relevant abilities?
2
Part I
Understanding Consciousness
5 6
Consciousness• Interest in ancient cultural documents
Caves of LascauxBibleHomer, Plato
Ancient Ideas
Soul as a BirdCommon also in non-Western cultures
Ancient Ideas
Soul as a Bird
3
Ancient Ideas
Soul as a Homunculus
Ancient Ideas
Soul as a Homunculus
Mind & Soul
Soul (anima, psyche, pneuma, flatus, spiritus atman)• Substance• Divine creation• Multitude of functions (cognitive, vital, volitional)Mind (mens)• Replaces „soul“ already in Descartes• Not necessarily substance• Focus on cognitive abilities• Vital functions excluded („vital force“)
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Consciousness
Consciousness as a property• Property of a person, a persons mental states
No non-circular definition• No general category, nothing similar or different that can be
captured without reference to consciousness• One’s own experience required for understanding
Distinctive feature• Privileged first-person access
Relation to physical processes open• May be realized by brain processes
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4
Consciousness and the Brain
Identity claims sensible?• “Identity of an object with itself trivial,
identity with another object false”Roughly speaking, to say of two things that they are identical is nonsense, and to say of one thing that it is identical with itself is to say nothing at all. Wittgenstein, Tractatus 5.5303
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L. Wittgenstein1889-1951
Consciousness and the BrainIdentity claim sensible: • One object, different perspectivesBilly the Kid• Identical with William H. Bonney jr.?• Or with Ollie L. Roberts, called Brushy Bill?
14Billy the KidWilliam H. Bonney jr. Ollie L. Roberts
Consciousness and the Brain
Beliefs, desires, reasons, feelings• “No natural properties”
There is an unexplained gap between the category of physical phenomena, and the category of subjective phenomena. .. If you looked into the brain with a full knowledge of its physical makeup and nerve cell activities, you would see nothing that described subjective experience. You would only see cellular structures, their interconnections, and the production of nerve impulses. Libet, Mind Time, 153
• Relation between mind and brain mysterious
B. Libet
Does it make sense?
Argument• No consciousness detectable in the
brain • Consciousness not a natural entity
Computer• “No stored texts, pictures, sounds
detectable on a hard drive”• “Stored texts, pictures, sounds no
natural entities”
Makes no sense!
5
How to make sense
Two levels of descriptionOutput level• Texts, pictures, soundsHardware level• Patterns of magnetic activityTwo descriptions of one entityUnderstanding requires• Precise description of explanandum
Texts vs. pictures, different characters, colors
• Understanding the electrical codeBinary code, ASCII , compression algorithms, etc.
Resolving the Dilemma
Two levels of descriptionFirst person perspective• Beliefs, desires, reasons, feelings
Third person perspective• Neural activities• Activation states of neural assemblies
Two descriptions of one process
Resolving the Dilemma
Two levels of descriptionFirst person perspective• Beliefs, desires, reasons, feelings
Third person perspective• Neural activities• Activation states of neural assemblies
Two descriptions of one process
Resolving the Dilemma
Understanding requires• Understanding the neural code• Precise description of correlating
mental states and brain states• Connecting 1st and 3rd person
perspectiveEnables the use of brain science to explain 1st person experience
6
Part III
Free Will
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Free Will
Freedom and determinism• Freedom requires non-determined action
„The idea of human free will is incompatible, in principle, with scientific considerations. Scientific research is based on the assumption that everything that happens has a cause, and that it is possible to find this cause. I cannot understand why an empirical scientist can believe that free and, therefore, undetermined action is conceivable.“
Wolfgang Prinz
DilemmaNon-determined action but naturalism is wrong
Naturalism is right, but no non-determined action
Wolfgang Prinz
Intuitions
Distinction from compulsion• Actions performed under compulsion not free• “Principle of Autonomy”
Distinction from chance• Random Events not free• “Principle of Authorship” - ascription to agent• Necessary for responsibility
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Self-Determination
Distinction from external determination: • Principle of autonomy met
Determination by agent: • Principle of authorship met
Example:• Agent’s believes that stealing is reprehensible• Agent’s belief makes it intelligible that they paid
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7
Self-Determination
Self-Determination• Adequate analysis of minimal concept• Additional criteria may be necessary
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Self-Determination
Action self-determined if…• … determined by features constituting agent themselves• … personal preferences explain that x and not y was performedPhysical realization of personal preferences• Enables self-determinationDetermination by agent’s preferences• Robust connection between preferences and action• Indetermination may interfere with agent’s preferencesDecisive• Not whether - how action is determined• Determination by self: self-determination
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Waiving Determination
Before birth• No change – agent cannot take advantage of additional
freedom
Before the beginning of the decision process• Before: p believes that theft is reprehensible• Afterwards: p accepts theft (as a matter of fact)• p without control over change of their own preferences
During the process of decision making• Process of decision making disrupted
– rational decision impossible27
Freedom and Determination
No “enhancement” of freedomDecisive: • Not whether but how an action is determined• Neurally realized act of will may be self-determined
Freedom, determination compatible
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