The double look on complex dimension
The “third man” objection The philosopher Martin Legros observes his dog confidently recognizing his peers, even though they sometimes look very different, and wonders if he has any ideas. Thought is often schematized by making ideas —idein (ἰδεῖν) means “to see”— abstract, ideal and general forms, like the shape of a man or a tree, … Read more
Abstract: ‘Time’ is an amalgamation of two independent concepts, dimension and passage of time. Within ‘dimension’ exist two sub-concepts, course and arrow of time; the course is the sequence of states and the arrow the idea that the sequence has a preferential direction. The passage is the very different idea that the sequence is animated, … Read more
Beyond the appearences Reading a new survey of theories of consciousness, from a computational point of view, I am amazed by the number of a priori which, without seeming to be so, are hidden in the middle of the text. This type of work, however, strives, with meticulousness, to get rid of postulates and ambivalences … Read more
Abstract: The introduction sets the scene for a Theory of Everything (ToE): the observable, the provable, the root concepts, the limits, the author. Part 1 presents the transcendental thread, the TD principle (soliTary vs soliDary, whole vs part). From this principle is deduced the fundamental framework of reality, the complex variety, endowed with two dimensions, … Read more
Abstract: As Surimposium is a theory of everything presented on this site, I examine Ken Wilber’s earlier theory, which he expanded throughout his life. I separate the excellent start on Arthur Koestler’s holons, likely to win broad support, and the mystical veneer added by Wilber, which ends up erasing the initial coherence. I highlight Wilber’s … Read more
Abstract: Quantum and conscious mysteries are brought together in the quantum theory of consciousness, where the phenomenon is attributed to the interaction between neurotransmitters and the zero-point field (ZPF). A materialist success, but a philosophical farce, since the qualitative richness of consciousness is not taken into account. A nugget, though: the theory is a simple … Read more
Abstract: Critical review of a reference article on consciousness in AIs, published by Patrick Butlin and Robert Long’s team on 22/08/23. Part 1 analyzes the pitfalls and resulting breaches in the study: sacralized definition of consciousness, exclusions in the chosen method, transposition of human theories to the digital, occultation of the qualitative phenomenon. Part 2: … Read more
Abstract: Given the difficulty in demonstrating the ontological reality of emergence, some authors propose to make a non-substantialist conception of it. But classical reductionist ontology is already failing to say whether there is a fundamental substance of things. It simply associates an information structure with each observable phenomenon, without justifying or contradicting the existence of … Read more
There are countless ways to define the mind. Because its productions are. And the disciplines of the mind define it in reverse. There are physical, biological, psychological, sociological, and of course mathematical descriptions. The mind is like a prediction algorithm. Haven’t we read everywhere that it is Bayesian? No no, Bayesian neural functioning does not … Read more
Abstract: The hierarchy works poorly because it is represented too horizontally in our minds. Defect inherent in the synthesis carried out in the conscious space. At this level of the neural network, the model flattens a social universe that is actually endowed with vertical complexity. Two mental dimensions In this chapter I use a notion … Read more