Consciousness, Materialism, and the Limits of Reductionism
On this episode, host Pat Flynn concludes a three-part conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about all things related to AI, consciousness, and rationality. In Part 3, Flynn and Bringsjord summarize their points about integrated information theory and an alternative view, cognitive consciousness. The discussion explores the challenges of explaining consciousness from a materialist or physicalist perspective, noting the apparent qualitative gap between physical/computational systems and subjective conscious experience. Along the way, the discussion contrasts the eliminativist view, which denies the reality of consciousness, with the panpsychist view, arguing that both represent extreme positions that fail to account for the undeniable reality of subjective experience. As they conclude, Bringsjord discusses extending the concepts of cognitive consciousness to quantum computing, an exciting area of ongoing research. Tune in for the conclusion to this fascinating three-part discussion on the nature of consciousness and the various attempts to explain it materially and otherwise.
