June 17, 2023 • 7 mins
Is Your Mind Just A Parasite On Your Physical Body?
What if intelligence can thrive without consciousness?
Key Takeaways
What if intelligence can thrive without consciousness?
Key Takeaways
- Blindsight is a unique kind of first-contact novel. Its focus is not on humanity's first meeting with an alien civilization, but rather that this civilization is highly intelligent, yet lacks consciousness.
- What if there is nothing special about self-awareness? What if it is just evolutionary dead weight, bound to disappear soon?
- The idea rests on machine metaphors for life and mind, which strike this columnist as profoundly mistaken.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The following in foecast is a presentationof the Xoon Broadcast Network, x Soon
TV Channel and Roma McConnell Media Company, broadcasting from Canada to the world and
beyond. Is your mind just aparasite on your physical body? Take a
(00:22):
deep breath? Can you feel yourlungs filling with air? Now? Look
at your hand? Can you seeyour five fingers with their articulated joints.
With each of these experiences, youare aware not only of what you experience,
you are also aware that you areexperiencing it. You are conscious of
(00:42):
experience, and that implies you areconscious to begin with. But here is
a question for you. What isthat consciousness good for? What does it
do? Is it even necessary?These questions are central to the amazing science
fiction novel Blind Site by Peter Watts. I just finished the book because my
(01:03):
day job sometimes involves thinking about aliensand how they might evolve. It hit
me hard. Blind Site is afirst contact novel, a story about humanity's
first encounter with an intelligent alien species. There are, of course, a
million first contact stories out there,but Blind Site stands apart from other entries
(01:25):
in the genre because what the bookreally offers is a deep meditation on the
nature of intelligence and unconsciousness in generalmindless conversations. Before we return to that
point, let me give you anoverview of the plot. There are some
spoilers to follow, but you arestill going to want to read the book
for yourself. It is that good. In a not too distant future,
(01:49):
a ship crewed by a few heavilymodified humans is sent to the edges of
the Solar System after Earth gets scannedby devices of obviously alien origin. Out
there beyond Pluto's orbit, they finda massive craft that engages them in long
conversations while warning them from coming anycloser. After a time, the humans
figure out that whatever is on theother end of the dialog doesn't really understand
(02:15):
anything. It simply knows the rulesof human language and is providing appropriately structured
replies to any communication the humans send. No meaning is occurring on their end.
As the book notes, the aliensare exemplifying philosopher John Searle's famous Chinese
Room Ai thought experiment. The humanseventually breach the alien craft and capture some
(02:38):
of its inhabitants. Examining the specimens, it soon becomes clear that the creatures
do not have the neural architecture neededto support the consciousness that occurs in human
brains. Eventually, the crew comesto the stunning conclusion that while the aliens
are vastly more intelligent than we are, they lack consciousness entirely. They process
(03:00):
information, innovate, and solve problems, but they are not aware of what
they are doing, challenging centuries ofphilosophical assumptions. Across the long history of
debates about the evolution of the humanmind, there has always been a fundamental
assumption that intelligence and self consciousness gohand in hand. This was made explicit
(03:20):
in Discard as famous dictum, Ithink, therefore I am. It is
the interiority of our inner voice thatvalidates our experiences as real and confirms they
belong to us. This high intelligenceexists because we possess these selves with their
capacity to reflect on the data oursenses sent to us. But over the
last few decades, some cognitive scientistsand philosophers have started to ask new questions
(03:46):
about what actually constitutes consciousness. DavidChalmers, for example, asked about what
he called philosophical zombies. These arecreatures that appear like us in all their
outer behavior, but they lack anyinner experience. They have no interiority at
all. For zombies, response followsstimulus without experience or meaning. When he
(04:10):
posed the problem of philosophical zombies,what Chalmers was really trying to point out
was what makes consciousness and us special. Blind site turns Chalmers point on its
head consciousness as evolutionary deadweight. Whatthe book posits is that there may be
nothing special about consciousness at all.In fact, maybe it's an evolutionary dead
(04:33):
end. The real world phenomenon ofblind site occurs when the visual processing machinery
in someone's brain is destroyed. Theycan no longer react to visual stimuli under
certain circumstances. However, their bodywill still respond appropriately to visual information,
as if some lower part of thenervous system were doing the job of seeing.
(04:57):
Using this blind site as a metaphor, what's his asking if the self
awareness we associate with consciousness might justbe an energy hogging add on to brain
function that is not necessary for intelligence. In this view, the self we
hold so dear is an evolutionary developmentthat occurred in Earth's lineage of intelligent creatures
us, but is not needed.Going even further, the book implies that
(05:20):
evolution will not continue to select forconsciousness in the long run. Our self
aware minds are as. One characterimplies a kind of parasite that is writing
our Bodus nervous system. It isnot needed and would be better shed as
soon as possible. The universe ofblind Site is full of advanced alien technologies
(05:41):
developed by advanced alien intelligence, butnone of them carry the added evolutionary weight
of self awareness. This is apretty remarkable idea. It'll note that other
writers have played with it before,notably Alistair Reynolds in Poseidon's Wake. Indeed,
it is an idea well rooted inscientific and philosophical literature. But what
(06:04):
makes Blindside so powerful is the weavingof these dense ideas into a compelling story
that fully fleshes out their importance.I will end by noting that I think
the idea of intelligence without consciousness iswrong. It rests on the use of
machine metaphors for life and mind.In short, the idea that you are
(06:24):
nothing but a meat computer machine metaphorsfor life and mind are I think profoundly
mistaken. But I could be wrongabout that too, and that is what
makes Blindside and its ideas such agreat read. To listen to all the
shows on the x zoone broadcast network, visit www dot xzbn dot net to
(06:50):
watch the x Zone TV channel.Exclusive to SIMILTV, visit www dot similtv
dot com channel thirty two. Ourmotto is Dare to believe, Dare to
be heard. The x vone searchingfor answers, demanding the truth. Do
you have any comments, suggestions,show ideas, Send them to admin at
(07:15):
RAHLHEIFENMA dot com. For Roma macConnell Media Company in London, England.
I am Brook Maguire
The following in foecast is a presentationof the Xoon Broadcast Network, x Soon
TV Channel and Roma McConnell Media Company, broadcasting from Canada to the world and
beyond. Is your mind just aparasite on your physical body? Take a
(00:22):
deep breath? Can you feel yourlungs filling with air? Now? Look
at your hand? Can you seeyour five fingers with their articulated joints.
With each of these experiences, youare aware not only of what you experience,
you are also aware that you areexperiencing it. You are conscious of
(00:42):
experience, and that implies you areconscious to begin with. But here is
a question for you. What isthat consciousness good for? What does it
do? Is it even necessary?These questions are central to the amazing science
fiction novel Blind Site by Peter Watts. I just finished the book because my
(01:03):
day job sometimes involves thinking about aliensand how they might evolve. It hit
me hard. Blind Site is afirst contact novel, a story about humanity's
first encounter with an intelligent alien species. There are, of course, a
million first contact stories out there,but Blind Site stands apart from other entries
(01:25):
in the genre because what the bookreally offers is a deep meditation on the
nature of intelligence and unconsciousness in generalmindless conversations. Before we return to that
point, let me give you anoverview of the plot. There are some
spoilers to follow, but you arestill going to want to read the book
for yourself. It is that good. In a not too distant future,
(01:49):
a ship crewed by a few heavilymodified humans is sent to the edges of
the Solar System after Earth gets scannedby devices of obviously alien origin. Out
there beyond Pluto's orbit, they finda massive craft that engages them in long
conversations while warning them from coming anycloser. After a time, the humans
figure out that whatever is on theother end of the dialog doesn't really understand
(02:15):
anything. It simply knows the rulesof human language and is providing appropriately structured
replies to any communication the humans send. No meaning is occurring on their end.
As the book notes, the aliensare exemplifying philosopher John Searle's famous Chinese
Room Ai thought experiment. The humanseventually breach the alien craft and capture some
(02:38):
of its inhabitants. Examining the specimens, it soon becomes clear that the creatures
do not have the neural architecture neededto support the consciousness that occurs in human
brains. Eventually, the crew comesto the stunning conclusion that while the aliens
are vastly more intelligent than we are, they lack consciousness entirely. They process
(03:00):
information, innovate, and solve problems, but they are not aware of what
they are doing, challenging centuries ofphilosophical assumptions. Across the long history of
debates about the evolution of the humanmind, there has always been a fundamental
assumption that intelligence and self consciousness gohand in hand. This was made explicit
(03:20):
in Discard as famous dictum, Ithink, therefore I am. It is
the interiority of our inner voice thatvalidates our experiences as real and confirms they
belong to us. This high intelligenceexists because we possess these selves with their
capacity to reflect on the data oursenses sent to us. But over the
last few decades, some cognitive scientistsand philosophers have started to ask new questions
(03:46):
about what actually constitutes consciousness. DavidChalmers, for example, asked about what
he called philosophical zombies. These arecreatures that appear like us in all their
outer behavior, but they lack anyinner experience. They have no interiority at
all. For zombies, response followsstimulus without experience or meaning. When he
(04:10):
posed the problem of philosophical zombies,what Chalmers was really trying to point out
was what makes consciousness and us special. Blind site turns Chalmers point on its
head consciousness as evolutionary deadweight. Whatthe book posits is that there may be
nothing special about consciousness at all.In fact, maybe it's an evolutionary dead
(04:33):
end. The real world phenomenon ofblind site occurs when the visual processing machinery
in someone's brain is destroyed. Theycan no longer react to visual stimuli under
certain circumstances. However, their bodywill still respond appropriately to visual information,
as if some lower part of thenervous system were doing the job of seeing.
(04:57):
Using this blind site as a metaphor, what's his asking if the self
awareness we associate with consciousness might justbe an energy hogging add on to brain
function that is not necessary for intelligence. In this view, the self we
hold so dear is an evolutionary developmentthat occurred in Earth's lineage of intelligent creatures
us, but is not needed.Going even further, the book implies that
(05:20):
evolution will not continue to select forconsciousness in the long run. Our self
aware minds are as. One characterimplies a kind of parasite that is writing
our Bodus nervous system. It isnot needed and would be better shed as
soon as possible. The universe ofblind Site is full of advanced alien technologies
(05:41):
developed by advanced alien intelligence, butnone of them carry the added evolutionary weight
of self awareness. This is apretty remarkable idea. It'll note that other
writers have played with it before,notably Alistair Reynolds in Poseidon's Wake. Indeed,
it is an idea well rooted inscientific and philosophical literature. But what
(06:04):
makes Blindside so powerful is the weavingof these dense ideas into a compelling story
that fully fleshes out their importance.I will end by noting that I think
the idea of intelligence without consciousness iswrong. It rests on the use of
machine metaphors for life and mind.In short, the idea that you are
(06:24):
nothing but a meat computer machine metaphorsfor life and mind are I think profoundly
mistaken. But I could be wrongabout that too, and that is what
makes Blindside and its ideas such agreat read. To listen to all the
shows on the x zoone broadcast network, visit www dot xzbn dot net to
(06:50):
watch the x Zone TV channel.Exclusive to SIMILTV, visit www dot similtv
dot com channel thirty two. Ourmotto is Dare to believe, Dare to
be heard. The x vone searchingfor answers, demanding the truth. Do
you have any comments, suggestions,show ideas, Send them to admin at
(07:15):
RAHLHEIFENMA dot com. For Roma macConnell Media Company in London, England.
I am Brook Maguire
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