Well, Russ, here’s one thing we agree on. I would be the last person to claim that consciousness is an epiphenomenon.
Nick
Nick Thompson
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
From: Friam <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Russ Abbott
Sent: Saturday, February 6, 2021 7:16 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[hidden email]>
Subject: [FRIAM] The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness by Mark Solms
About to be published.
From a review by Oliver Burkeman:
Burkeman: Using poignant case studies of neurology patients – including children born with brain damage, yet plainly still capable of sadness and joy – [Solms] argues persuasively that consciousness ultimately arises not in the cortex, the seat of advanced intelligence, but in the more primitive brainstem, where basic emotions begin.
Russ: In other words, consciousness exists far down the tree of life.
Burkeman: To the best of my understanding, the gist [of the book] is that feelings are a uniquely effective and efficient way for humans to monitor their countless changing biological needs, in extremely unpredictable environments, to set priorities for action and make the best choices so as to remain within various bounds – of hunger, cold and heat, physical danger, social isolation, etc – outside of which we can’t survive for long. Doing all that without feelings, and doing it as rapidly as survival requires, would take so many computational resources that it would lead to a “combinatorial explosion”, demanding levels of energy a human could never muster.
Here's Nick Lane's blurb on Amazon: (If you know Nick Lane, you know he is worth listening to.)
"At last the emperor has found some clothes! For decades, consciousness has been perceived as an epiphenomenon, little more than an illusion that can't really make things happen. Solms takes a thrilling new approach to the problem, grounded in modern neurobiology but finding meaning in older ideas going back to Freud. This is an exciting book."
― Nick Lane, author of The Vital Question
-- Russ Abbott
Professor, Computer Science
California State University, Los Angeles
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