I’m still making my way through the Alva Nöe, but some thoughts that came to mind when reading Fernando’s update:
- An ontology may well be considered a reduction (of the infinite kind). We might just be replacing one system of symbols (strings) with another (‘semantic objects’). However, this may still be a very useful thing to do. In addition, these new symbols can still be related to the external world of objects.
- I don’t think that I disagree with our integration/leveraging/exploitation of the world ‘out there’ as a point of reference for our ‘internal’ processes. That being said:
- We do have to make a link to those external things, and if a more compact or mnemonic ‘internal’ symbology is a useful and efficient mechanism, why can’t that be related rather than ‘raw’ strings?
- There are plenty of things that we think and talk about that have no external reference at all.
- Language itself requires linkages (referents), but I can’t point to language.
Regarding Nöe’s book, my current reaction is that he struggles with language and metaphor from the very beginning.
- “Mind is life” page 42
- “Mind is the lower boundary of consciousness” page 45
- “I use the term ‘consciousness’ to mean, roughly, experience” page 8
- [consciousness is something we do] page 8
Do we ‘do’ our experiences?
Regarding the apparent duality of attributing minds to those with whom we interact (children, lovers, colleagues) and the scientific approach of cold objectivism – I have no problem with this at all. Perhaps I’m a lobster…
At any rate – it is a very stimulating read. @Fernando – I’m looking forward to your thoughts on the book.
Update it is interesting to see how Nöe makes claims about neural plasticity in building up his arguments that are the central theme (to be refuted) of Pinker’s book The Blank Slate, and yet Nöe doesn’t cite Pinker. Nöe’s account of the ferret visual cortex experiments is (if memory serves) not in line with Pinker’s account in terms of the perfection of mutability. I believe Pinker indicated that the experiment produced some sort of visual system but not a perfect solution.
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