HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS |
Is there different amounts of consciousness in different animals? There are many different types of organization of nerve cells in all of the creatures on this planet. There are many ways that groups of these nerve cells can work together as larger units which can let a seemingly infinite amount of patterns to travel around in them. As we learn exactly what consciousness is will we find that all creatures share it to some degree or other? Are all forms of consciousness basically the same?
If size doesn't have as much of an influence as the way that the nerves cells are organized then has nature discovered different types of consciousness in different creatures? Or is it more or less like how letters, words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, parts, on up to entire books are, each a level of organization with their own rules? We humans could be looking at our own consciousness as similar to the book or highest level of organization, with other creatures sharing the same basics of consciousness but they have only reached intermediate levels, paragraphs or chapters, of consciousness.
If each nerve cell is sort of like a letter then what levels of organization would be required for patterns to emerge that would be equivalent to the self? Would this be similar to a book of life? After the level of groups of nerve cells is passed and we journey into the realm where patterns invisibly move around in them, would this be similar to moving up from letters and words into the region of meaning where words combine into phrases and sentences? Or sentences combining into paragraphs, and so on, up to an entire library with stories full of life? (Notice that an entire book consists of letters but there are all of these levels of meaning which seem to be more than the letters themselves.)
What would more consciousness be like? If altered states only work within the established range what would existence be like if we increased the amount of working space itself? Drugs, moods, or meditation may only stress the system as far as it can go but are these really a different type of consciousness, from what is considered normal? If we increased the amount of working space and arranged all of the elements so that further levels of organization could emerge, we may discover a type of experience that we cannot now even imagine.
If we connected all information that can travel through electronic media directly to our brains and bypassed the senes, would this increase consciousness or only stress the existing consciousness level in a direction possible with the senses alone under extreme conditions?
If we could peer into and experience other people's experiences would some people have less or more consciousness than others?
Has nature discovered the highest forms of consciousness in us creatures or are there as yet undiscovered states of consciousness possible?
If there are higher forms of consciousness producing devices and we come to know them would we then feel retarded in comparison?
Could it be that the most gifted individuals and the most ignorant share the same capacity but have just learned to use it differently. In this way there is no real higher or lower consciousness in our species but each individual plotting themselves along a range by learning in particular ways?
If our devices take on consciousness and we can merge with them by interfacing them to our brains and selves, will we take that opportunity? Would we have to create add ons to our brains or extra brains in order to connect with these higher intelligent machines?
If these artificial consciousnesses not only become better at everything but also attain higher levels of consciousness couldn't we eliminate the threat that they pose to us by connecting to them becoming them and claiming thier space?
If they threaten us shouldn't we claim and merge with this new space? We can evolve with these entities instead of letting them just evolve on their own. In this way we will be the ones advancing to all of these imagined places. Moral Dilemmas Concerning the Ultra Intelligent Machine CAM - Brain Project - jbrain Dr. Hugo de Garis Artificial Intelligence Links Consciousness Links The Resurrection Machine |