Quote:
What might a future generation think when they hear us comparing consciousness to a piece of software?
I think the comparison is apt, because I'm not claiming that the mind is a software program, but that the structure of the brain is what generates consciousness. This seems somewhat obvious, but to be frank, most people have a very limited idea of what the mind is, just that it is "me".
The only real danger with this observation is the obvious implication that if the brain has a "programmed" structure, then it must have a "programmer". Not so, because the term "program" describes a structured system, and a system can occur naturally.
Take the weather patterns, an "organic" system of extreme complexity, which seem to behave according to rules that can be understandable (even if we dont fully understand them). However, no one can deny that the weather occurs naturally, without intervention from a "programmer" (unless you want to go back to rain dances and such.. good luck).
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