Consciousness and the Electronic Mind
Consciousness and the Electronic Mind
Dr. Noa Gedi
Course Description:
In Western thought, consciousness has always been considered the most significant feature of what it means to be human; consciousness is the one thing that clearly distinguishes humankind from all other life-forms. More specifically, having consciousness was regarded as the preeminent sign of human subjectivity, and at the same time, confronts us with a mystery no less great than that of the universe at large. That is why it has always been a major concern of scientists and theoreticians in various fields of knowledge, particularly in philosophy, when the discussion about consciousness expanded to the realm of psychology, cognitive and neuro-science.
Nowadays, some scientists believe technology can enable them to fully decode the brain, perhaps even construct an “Internet of the mind.” Are we facing a new era in human existence that would finally rid us of the riddle of consciousness, simply by uploading mental content to a computer? Does the post-human future entail the liberation of mind from body?
The course will grapple with these questions and explore the notion of consciousness from cradle to grave against recent developments in digital technology along with probing the ethical implication that arise out of the possibility of engineering artificial consciousness.
Course Requirements:
Assigned readings for each class meeting as they appear in the syllabus (accessible as PDF files on Moodle). These readings, as well as passages from other texts that will be addressed and referred to in class (on PPT), and class discussions comprise the material for the take-home exam.
Course Grade: Take-home exam (90%) + mid-term (10%).
Course Schedule and Readings:
Part I: “This thing called consciousness”
Reading: David, M. Rosenthal (1991). The Nature of the Mind. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 15-20; Gilbert Ryle (1949). “Descartes’ Myth”, The Concept of the Mind, London: Hutchinson University Library, 11-24.
“Being John Malkovich”; “Eternal Sunshine”.
Part II: “The problem of subjectivity: internalism vs externalism" Reading: Rosenthal (1991). “Psychological Explanation” in The Nature of the Mind, 479-484; Thomas Nagel (1974). “What is it like to be a bat?” Philosophical Review 83: 435–456.
Part III: “The dawn of a thinking machine”
Reading: Ian Watson (2012). The Universal Machine: From the Dawn of Computing to Digital Consciousness. New York, NY: Copernicus Books, 307-330; J. Searle (1990). “Is the Brain a Digital Computer?” APA 64 (3): 21-37.
“Matrix”; “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
Part IV: “Artificiality and Immortality”.
Reading: Michio Kaku (2014). “The Artificial Mind and Silicon Consciousness”, The Future of the Mind. Allen Lane, 214-249.
“Blade Runner”.
Additional Reading
Armstrong, D. 1981. “What is consciousness?” in The Nature of Mind. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Chalmers, D. 1995. “Facing up to the problem of consciousness”. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2: 200–19.
Daniel C. Dennett. 1990. “Can Machines Think?” in Ray Kurzweil, The Age of Intelligent Machines, 48-61.
Fodor, J. A. (1991). “Searle on What Only Brains Can Do” in The Nature of the Mind, 520-521.
Huxley, T. 1874. “On the hypothesis that animals are automata”. Fortnightly Review, 95: 555–80. Reprinted in Collected Essays. London, 1893.
Rosenthal, D. 1986. “Two Concepts of Consciousness.” Philosophical Studies, 49: 329–59.
Searle, J. R. 1980. “Minds, Brains, and Programs” The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3: 417–457.
1991. “Author’s Response” in The Nature of the Mind, 321-323.
Turing, Allen [1950], “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” reprinted in The Mind's I 1988, 53-67.
