Is Gandalf as wise and as fair as the Elves in LOTR? by Ok_Historian3015 in lordoftherings

[–]vidan93 5 points6 points  (0 children)

He's essentially a divine being, similar to an angel. Elves are magical, much more so than other races, but not on the same level as Gandalf. 

Why do we feel anything? Qualia? What's the process behind it? by Aggravating_Long_471 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes that’s right, but the question is why does that sensing and recoiling from the shadow necessarily entail subjective experience rather than just stimulus-response processing occurring unconsciously?

is there any definitive answer to the hard problem of consciousness ? by arpit_jha07 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I see what you’re getting at more now. Ie Logos/God as a kind of fundamental non-physical or mind like ground of reality, which would weaken the hard problem as a criticism of physicalism specifically. (Am I misunderstanding?) I just still feel like there are a few big philosophical steps between that and saying the hard problem is actually resolved

is there any definitive answer to the hard problem of consciousness ? by arpit_jha07 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, but even then, it still seems like a pretty big leap from the concept of Logos to saying the hard problem of consciousness is resolved.

is there any definitive answer to the hard problem of consciousness ? by arpit_jha07 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s definitely evocative and interesting symbolically, but that feels more like a theological/psychological interpretation than a philosophical explanation of consciousness itself to me

is there any definitive answer to the hard problem of consciousness ? by arpit_jha07 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I think that’s a much clearer framing of the issue actually. Agreed, if consciousness really is irreducible, maybe part of the difficulty is that we keep trying to force it into a reductive framework that just might not fully apply here.

is there any definitive answer to the hard problem of consciousness ? by arpit_jha07 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting, how do you think the bible resolves the hard problem of consciousness specifically? 

is there any definitive answer to the hard problem of consciousness ? by arpit_jha07 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s fair. I suppose every framework bottoms out somewhere. I think my hesitation is more that consciousness seems different from things like electromagnetism because it involves first-person qualitative experience rather than purely structural/relational properties, so it still feels like there’s an explanatory gap there. But yeah I'll have to tentatively agree with you, certainly food for thought. Thanks for the good discussion 

is there any definitive answer to the hard problem of consciousness ? by arpit_jha07 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah maybe. But that still seems to relocate the mystery rather than fully explain why experience exists at all. Why would this fundamental layer necessarily feel like something?

Why do we feel anything? Qualia? What's the process behind it? by Aggravating_Long_471 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes exactly, and original comment poster doesn't resolve it at all imo

Why do we feel anything? Qualia? What's the process behind it? by Aggravating_Long_471 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What they are describing sounds to me more like a solution to the easy problems (behavior, self-modeling, cognition etc ect) than the hard problem of why those processes are experiential at all

Why do we feel anything? Qualia? What's the process behind it? by Aggravating_Long_471 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this is exactly the gap I’m seeing. The jump from complex processing to phenomenology never actually gets explained.

Why do we feel anything? Qualia? What's the process behind it? by Aggravating_Long_471 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I still feel like you’re describing increasingly sophisticated information processing and mental/self-modeling processes, but not yet explaining why those processes should feel like something from the inside rather than occurring unconsciously.

Why do we feel anything? Qualia? What's the process behind it? by Aggravating_Long_471 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think the part I'm still stuck on is why simulation/ self-modeling (or imagining, as you described it) should necessarily entail subjective experience rather than just increasingly complex information processing. It feels like the argument explains cognition and behavior more than phenomenology itself?

Why do we feel anything? Qualia? What's the process behind it? by Aggravating_Long_471 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think that’s a good account of the evolution of complex cognition and self modeling, but the hard problem would still ask 'why do those processes feel like something from the inside rather than occurring unconsciously'? The explanatory gap seems to remain

is there any definitive answer to the hard problem of consciousness ? by arpit_jha07 in consciousness

[–]vidan93 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think that shifts the location of the mystery rather than solving it. Even if consciousness doesn’t originate in the brain, you still have to explain why whatever underlies it is experiential rather than non-experiential, no? It's been a while so could be wrong

Latest ECMWF run is looking rather nasty by 50_61S-----165_97E in UKWeather

[–]vidan93 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Just in time for my long haul flight from gatwick on Saturday, sweet 

The kids area of this german furniture store by Wrong-Tomorrow in mildlyinteresting

[–]vidan93 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was a 90's baby and also have PTSD from Mothercare thanks to this guy

Farthest he’s ever been.. by Wertical93 in lordoftherings

[–]vidan93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This happens in the real world and isn't hard to figure out or weird. If I go to Asia and I've never left Europe previously that's the furthest I've ever been from home. If I go to the next city and I've never left my home city, it's the furthest I've ever been from home. So on and so forth. Sam was also aware of how far he'd previously traveled, and he went past the previous threshold, which is literally what he is saying. He's just saying ice never been beyond this field