Welcome to
Science a GoGo's
Discussion Forums
Please keep your postings on-topic or they will be moved to a galaxy far, far away.
Your use of this forum indicates your agreement to our terms of use.
So that we remain spam-free, please note that all posts by new users are moderated.


The Forums
General Science Talk        Not-Quite-Science        Climate Change Discussion        Physics Forum        Science Fiction

Who's Online Now
0 members (), 181 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Latest Posts
Top Posters(30 Days)
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 2 1 2
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,100
K
Megastar
Offline
Megastar
K
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,100
Originally Posted By: ImagingGeek
There are actually some standardized tests that work for animals, at least. Self-recognition is one - be it in a mirror, in playbacks of calls, etc.


Ah, I thought there might be. But I wonder if those tests are just designed so they'll work for animals that we already assume are conscious? An animal/entity that has no way to communicate, other than by us directly observing its internal workings, would surely be pretty hard to test. - Good example, someone in a coma(?) who's conscious but has no muscle control at all.

I suppose that Chinese room thought experiment kind of highlights that we may have no way to really be sure.


Last edited by kallog; 06/07/10 05:31 AM.
.
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 410
I
Senior Member
Offline
Senior Member
I
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 410
Originally Posted By: kallog
Originally Posted By: ImagingGeek
There are actually some standardized tests that work for animals, at least. Self-recognition is one - be it in a mirror, in playbacks of calls, etc.


Ah, I thought there might be. But I wonder if those tests are just designed so they'll work for animals that we already assume are conscious?


No. In fact, they were originally developed as a means of gaging mental retardation and other mental defects in humans. Much of the recent development has been in trying to move these tests away from a human-centric concept of self awareness to a more generic one, applicable to anything from animals to computers.

-Is the object aware of time,
-Is the object aware it is separate from the environment,
-Is the object aware of other similar objects in its environment (i.e. other members of its own species),
-Is the object aware it is separate from its fellow species (etc) members,
-Does the object show an awareness of death,
-etc

Originally Posted By: kallog
An animal/entity that has no way to communicate, other than by us directly observing its internal workings, would surely be pretty hard to test.


For things like animals, much can be inferred from behavior. Chimps, for example, mourn their dead. That's pretty clear evidence that they are aware of death, and the finiteness of their existence.

Bryan


UAA...CAUGCUAUGAUGGAACGAACAAUUAUGGAA
Page 2 of 2 1 2

Link Copied to Clipboard
Newest Members
debbieevans, bkhj, jackk, Johnmattison, RacerGT
865 Registered Users
Sponsor

Science a GoGo's Home Page | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact UsokÂþ»­¾W
Features | News | Books | Physics | Space | Climate Change | Health | Technology | Natural World

Copyright © 1998 - 2016 Science a GoGo and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5