Hofstadter, Dennett - The Mind's I

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On Having No Head 32Them both, we also have developed a respect for the compellingof simple logic. But the sudden conjunction of these twopremises slaps us in the face unexpectedly. It is an ugly,brutal blow that sends us reeling – probably for days, weeks,months. Actually, for years – for our whole lives! But somehowwe suppress the conflict and turn it in other directions.Do higher animals have the ability to see themselves asmembers of a class? Is a dog capable of (wordlessly) thinkingthe thought. “I bet I look like those dogs over there”? Imaginethe following gory situation. A ring is formed of, say, twentyanimals of one sort. An evil human repeatedly spins a dial andwalks over to the designated animal and knifes it to death infront of the remaining ones. Is it likely that each one willrealize its impending doom, will think, “That animal over thereis just like me, and my goose may soon be cooked just as hiswas. Oh, no!”? ((Patrick’s note.. YES, animals do know, cows atthe abattoir know they are going to be slaughtered… smack onedog and my others know they had better go hide….)This ability to snap oneself onto others seems to be theexclusive property of members of higher species. (it is thecentral topic of Thomas Nagel’s article, “What is it like to bea Bat?” reprinted in selection 24.) One begins by making partialmappings: “I have feet, you have feet; I have hands, you havehands; hmm . . “ These partial mappings then can induce a totalmapping. Pretty soon, I conclude from your having a head that Ito have one, although I can’t see mine. But this steppingoutside myself is a gigantic and, in some ways, self-denyingstep. It contradicts much direct knowledge about myself. It islike Harding’s two distinct types of verb “to see” – whenapplied to myself it is quite another thing than when it appliesto you. The power of this distinction gets overcome, however, bythe sheer weight of too many mappings all the time, establishingwithout doubt my membership in a class that I formulatedoriginally without regard to myself.So logic overrides intuition. Just as we could come tobelieve that our Earth can be round – as is the alien moon –without people falling off, so we finally come to believe thatthe solipsistic view is nutty. Only a powerful vision such asHarding’s Himalayan experience can return us to that primordialsense of self and otherness, which is at the root of theproblems of conscious ness, soul, and self.Do I have a brain? Will I actually die? We all think aboutsuch questions many times during our lives. Occasionally,probably every imaginative person thinks that all of life is ahuge joke or hoax – perhaps a psychology experiment – beingperpetrated by some inconceivable superbeing, seeing how far itcan push us into believing obvious absurdities (the idea thatsounds that I can’t understand really mean something. The ideathat someone can hear Chopin or eat chocolate ice-cream withoutloving it, the idea that light goes at the same speed in anyreference frame,
On Having No Head 33the idea that I am made of inanimate atoms, the idea of my owndeath, and so on)> But unfortunately (or fortunately), that“conspiracy theory” undermines itself, since it postulatesanother mind – in fact a superintelligence an d thereforeinconceivable one – in order to explain away other mysteries.There seems to be no alternative to accepting some sort ofincomprehensible quality in existence. Take your pick. We allfluctuate delicately between a subjective and objective view ofthe world, and this quandary is central to human nature.D.R.H.
Page 2 and 3: PrefaceWhat is the mind? Who am I?
Page 4 and 5: from Mars. Your narrow escape from
Page 6 and 7: you from your brain in a brain swit
Page 8 and 9: the most mysterious feature of our
Page 10 and 11: are the paradigmatic conscious crea
Page 12 and 13: For Locke, indeed, there was a seri
Page 14 and 15: ence has begun to analyze the human
Page 16 and 17: simulations, illusions. Free will,
Page 18 and 19: Borges and I 20ming of a guitar. Ye
Page 20 and 21: Borges and I 22Asked to “translat
Page 22 and 23: On Having No Head 24Downwards in a
Page 24 and 25: On Having No Head 26One’s life to
Page 26 and 27: On Having No Head 28my nonentity he
Page 28 and 29: On Having No Head 30Fantastic pictu
Page 32 and 33: 3Harold J. MorowitzRediscovering th
Page 34 and 35: Rediscovering the Mind 36No general
Page 36 and 37: Rediscovering the Mind 38Before in
Page 38 and 39: Rediscovering the Mind 40Circle - f
Page 40 and 41: Rediscovering the Mind 42uniquely h
Page 42 and 43: Rediscovering the Mind 44Be shown t
Page 44 and 45: Rediscovering the Mind 46to this ve
Page 46 and 47: Rediscovering the Mind 48which stor
Page 48 and 49: 4A.M. TURINGComputing MachineryAnd
Page 50 and 51: Computing Machinery and Intelligenc
Page 64 and 65: 5Douglas R. HofstadterThe Turing te
Page 66 and 67: A Coffeehouse Conversation 71SANDY:
Page 68 and 69: A Coffeehouse Conversation 73PAT: E
Page 70 and 71: A Coffeehouse Conversation 75canes.
Page 72 and 73: A Coffeehouse Conversation 77shadow
Page 74 and 75: A Coffeehouse Conversation 79any ot
Page 76 and 77: A Coffeehouse Conversation 81SANDY:
Page 78 and 79: A Coffeehouse Conversation 83on eit
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A Coffeehouse Conversation 85intere
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A Coffeehouse Conversation 87They r
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A Coffeehouse Conversation 89they
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A Coffeehouse Conversation 91CHRIS:
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A Coffeehouse Conversation 93includ
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A Coffeehouse Conversation 95sent s
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The Princess Ineffabelle 97Dunes we
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The Princess Ineffabelle 99disappoi
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The Soul of Martha a Beast 101Close
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The Soul of Martha a Beast 103The r
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The Soul of Martha a Beast 105“he
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The Soul of Martha a Beast 107innat
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8TERREL MIEDANERThe Soul ofthe Mark
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The Soul of the Mark III Beast 111H
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The Soul of the Mark III Beast 113p
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The Soul of the Mark III Beast 115I
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Spirit 120A river or a rock, writes
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Spirit 122footprint. Not life’s;
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10RICHARD DAWKINSSelfish GenesAnd S
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Selfish Genes and Selfish Memes 126
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 150world. I
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 152Pierre d
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 154about it
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 156ACHILLES
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 158dominant
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 160
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 164by, uhh-
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 168involved
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 172some dis
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 174CRAB: No
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 178as long
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 182ANTEATER
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 184to help
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 186CRAB: Wh
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 192anthropo
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 194of the s
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 196that the
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 198chime st
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Prelude . . . Ant Fugue 200tion or
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12ARNOLD ZUBOFFThe Story of a Brain
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The Story of a Brain 204had been br
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The Story of a Brain 206neuron of t
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The Story of a Brain 208periencing
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The Story of a Brain 210have to mis
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The Story of a Brain 212this physio
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13DANIEL C. DENNETTWhere am I?Now t
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Where am I? 219circuit chips, plast
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Where am I? 221Barring capital puni
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Where am I? 223warms my gullet whil
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Where am I? 225uniqueness of that t
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Where am I? 227switch now set at B.
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Where am I? 229where I am. But such
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Where am I? 231like as identical tw
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Where was I? 233..If we can bypass
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Where was I? 235It enables most of
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Where was I? 237Tin Woodman, whose
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Where was I? 239on the messy typesc
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Where was I? 241sensational thing M
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Beyond Rejection 243that it would t
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Beyond Rejection 245looked like a c
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Beyond Rejection 247with some mirro
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Beyond Rejection 249tion after a fi
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Beyond Rejection 251As my hand move
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16RUDY RUCKERSoftwareCobb Anderson
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Software 255tentative first sip. He
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Software 257your contact up there.
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Software 259and on top was a sensor
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Software 261This was worse than Ral
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Software 263sun was angling right d
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Software 265The gates and switches
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Software 267The Soul of the Mark II
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The Riddle on the Universe and its
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The Seventh Sally 288sallies of Tru
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The Seventh Sally 290Excelsius was
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The Seventh Sally 292brains, but in
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The Seventh Sally 294vertently-in y
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19Stanislaw LemNon ServiamProfessor
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Non Serviam 298which there takes pl
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Non Serviam 300ance with their beha
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Non Serviam 302It were, a self real
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Non Serviam 304The harmonizing of t
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Non Serviam 306complicated as it mi
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Non Serviam 308ceeded -- says Dobb
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Non Serviam 310in turn begat DANN a
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Non Serviam 312ments to support it
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Non Serviam 314Correcting his handi
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Non Serviam 316Rebuke, not the hope
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Non Serviam 318Around on a table to
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Non Serviam 320ries, the larger the
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Is God a Taoist? 322GOD: If you don
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Is God a Taoist? 324GOD: So you ref
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Is God a Taoist? 326Omniscience, bu
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Is God a Taoist? 328MORTAL: What po
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Is God a Taoist? 330GOD: I meant th
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Is God a Taoist? 332GOD: Not at all
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Is God a Taoist? 334get done. In mo
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Is God a Taoist? 336MORTAL: Of cour
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Is God a Taoist? 338of nature. What
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Is God a Taoist? 340I can see by yo
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Is God a Taoist? 342Are “inner pe
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21Jorge Luis BorgesThe Circular Rui
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The Circular Ruins 346the vain ligh
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The Circular Ruins 348with these di
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The Circular Ruins 350"If I wasn't
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The Circular Ruins 352it doesn't "k
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Minds, Brains and Programs 354progr
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Minds, Brains and Programs 356prete
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Minds, Brains and Programs 358cases
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Minds, Brains and Programs 360cause
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Minds, Brains and Programs 362on th
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Minds, Brains and Programs 364corre
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Minds, Brains and Programs 366but a
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Minds, Brains and Programs 368by co
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Minds, Brains and Programs 370opera
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Minds, Brains and Programs 372proje
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Minds, Brains and Programs 374as he
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Minds, Brains and Programs 376Knob
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Minds, Brains and Programs 378You m
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Minds, Brains and Programs 380late"
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Minds, Brains and Programs 382are w
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An Unfortunate Dualist 384ding the
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An Unfortunate Dualist 386long-term
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An Unfortunate Dualist 388Ripper wa
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 392of
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 394jec
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 396des
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 398nat
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 400ces
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 402sen
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 404lan
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 406The
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 408com
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 410rep
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 412bat
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? 414Lan
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An Epistemological Nightmare 416FRA
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An Epistemological Nightmare 418EPI
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An Epistemological Nightmare 420is
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An Epistemological Nightmare 422FRA
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An Epistemological Nightmare 424dec
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An Epistemological Nightmare 426red
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An Epistemological Nightmare 428ano
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26Douglas R. HofstadterA Conversati
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A Conversation with Einstein’s Br
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Fiction 462him. And if he writes th
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Fiction 464wouldn't it be true for
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Further Reading 466"enter and infor
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Further Reading 468Hugh Everett's o
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Further Reading 470logic, see Howar
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Further Reading 472is Pamela McCord
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Further Reading 474who wants to dec
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Further Reading 476Fictional object
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Further Reading 478Two other recent
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Further Reading 480than phenomena t
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Further Reading 4821972), a harrowi
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IndexAbelson, Robert P:, 473, 477ab
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Index 486in, 11-12; and propagation
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Index 488devil, nature of, 334, 342
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Index 490game of Life, 319-20, 385,
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Index 492Jaynes, Julian, 468-69jeal
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Index 494ear" nature of, 294; nonqu
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Index 496physical symbol system, 36
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Index 498scribes, 128Scriptures, 38
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Index 500systems theory, 358-62, 37
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