G'day! My name is Bruce Robertson and this is Pirate Philosophy. In this series of videos, I will be describing an original philosophy, one that you won't find anywhere else, but it is one that is logical, rigorous and dynamic. Welcome.
In previous videos and summarised in the previous one, we looked at how logical processors can combine sense-data and a process of pattern identification to create a model of the world, and how this model of the world can be used to interact with the world through the particular animal's or organism's or logical processor's, motor outputs that connect to its arms, wings, legs, mouth or whatever. It also gets some feedback from its internal organs, which gives it direction and motivation in terms of looking towards maximising pleasure and minimising pain.
In this video, I want to extend that a little bit about how one can progress with creating a model of the world. It's a series of patterns; patterns of patterns built up in a pyramid of patterns. Then, one can take what I just summarised, in terms of the logical processor, sense-data, pattern creation, motor outputs and senses from its organs and look for a pattern that fits all that data, i.e. all that data that is input to the pattern-creation algorithm or program or logic, and what can it come up with? That fits them all together?
Well, I suggest that it is a pattern, which is about self. It's one that could be labelled 'me', 'I Am', 'I exist', because that incorporates all of the data that I just mentioned. In this way, the organism or animal, or person achieves self-awareness; it becomes aware of itself. The logical processor has become aware of its own existence. And this is phenomenal and this is wonderful.
And I would like to suggest that the experience of that self-awareness for the animal is what gives us consciousness; the awareness of ourselves and the experience of being alive and the experience of existing: consciousness.
The relationship between self-awareness and consciousness is a little bit tenuous, I cannot prove that self-awareness leads to consciousness, no one really can. Consciousness is a very personal experience of self-awareness. Scientists can to some degree test for whether animals have self-awareness through mirrors and paint (on their faces) and a whole lot of things like that and certainly a number of animals certainly do have self-awareness and we can infer that they also have consciousness; because that is the experience of self-awareness as it is experienced that we feel as self-aware beings; and this is absolutely wonderful; and it's kind of very special; it's what makes our lives so unique.
We've come from a fairly material world to an experience of that material world which is not of itself material. I would like to note that the emergence of this idea of self-awareness that comes from the theory of the pattern paradigm theory that I have been discussing in previous videos gives us a good indication that on the philosophical journey, upon which we are progressing, is on the right track.
We've taken a few simple assumptions including that of logic, and we've arrived at self-awareness. And I think that is a good indication that we are on the right track And also to make the inference of consciousness though that is slightly separate because that is the personal experience of self-awareness.
I'd also like to note that in the public domain, i.e. what you might find on the internet or in books, of people discussing mind and philosophy, that they suggest that the essence of consciousness is to be found somewhere in the material of the brain, or perhaps in the physics of quantum weirdness. But I think they are totally on the wrong track there. What we have shown here is that consciousness comes from, if you like, the software of the logic of awareness, from building up a model of the world.
And this theory of consciousness has implications for the domain of artificial intelligence. Some people have postulated that consciousness will simply appear, once robots or computers or whatever, reach a sufficient speed and memory and size commensurate with the size of the human brain and that than they will automatically achieve consciousness. Of course, this is entirely illogical. And it's just pure speculation. What we have shown here is that consciousness and self-awareness can only be achieved through the creation of a pyramid of patterns that constitutes a model of the world; and that pyramid of patterns arises from the basic logic of pattern identification, combined with external sense data, combined with physical interaction with the world through motor outputs, arms, legs, feet, etc and the motivation of pleasure and pain, about whether you've been successful in the real world or not, and that creates a complete model of the world and it is only once that has been achieved, that self-awareness or consciousness can be achieved. Because once that high level pyramid of patterns has been achieved, it is a fairly natural pattern to create the one for the identification of self and one's own existence within the world. And then you can label it: 'I am 'or 'me' or 'I exist', whatever you like.
Whether this would ever be possible with an entirely artificial intelligence, or whether anybody would ever want to try to do this or design a computer or create a computer, an artificial entity, that can build its own model of the world and to achieve self-awareness and possibly consciousness is: who knows? It is a moot point and is perhaps one that is best left for future generations.
Well, that is all I have for you today. If you have any interesting comments or questions about today's video, then please leave them in the comment section below and if you would like to continue this journey with me then please subscribe to my channel, give it a thumbs up and ring the bell.
Thank you
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