Consciousness and Computation Lecture

Key Points

Consciousness as Fundamental

• Computations and mathematics describe the activity of consciousness.
• Fundamental in the ontology are observers with conscious experiences.
• An observer without conscious experiences is hard to conceptualize.

Leibniz's Perspective

• Leibniz couldn't imagine mind arising from non-mind.
• Conscious experiences (qualia) remain unexplained scientifically.
• Comparisons with understanding life from non-life; definitions complicate the discussion.

Single Instance Problem

• Explaining consciousness from consciousness itself is challenging.
• Observing conscious experience is limited to one's own perspective.
• Understanding consciousness from the perspective of others remains speculative.

Physical vs. Conscious Experiences

• Conscious experiences are directly known; the physical world is an extrapolation.
• Discussion on whether accurate physical measurements (e.g., electrochemistry in nematodes) capture consciousness.
• Whether physical observations are sufficient to explain conscious experiences is questioned.

Ruliad Analogy

• Ruliad: different parts interact, but observation is limited.
• Conscious experiences might be beyond physical observation and laws of physics.
• Concept of a