Re: Amoeba croaks

From: Paul Hughes <planetp.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1999 21:51:48 -0800

Higgo James wrote:

> If you can degenerate into an amoeba, the amoeba can regenerate into
> you, and there will always be 'subsequent' universes in which you have
> recovered from whatever damage could be inflicted, to regain your
> consciousness. I need to read Dennett on this, but consciousness seems to
> be just a collection of memories, and this can always be preserved and
> reproduced.

If consciousness is just a collection of memories, are you suggesting that
anything with a collection of memories is conscious? This may sound like a
circular question, but it implies the possibility that anything with a
collection of memories is conscious. Everything from a calculator to an ant has
some collection of memories; so are they also conscious? If not, why would one
collection of memories have an inner life and another not have it?

Paul Hughes
Received on Wed Jan 06 1999 - 21:53:23 PST