• space_comrade [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    Then how does it work then?

    The article is shit, the argument is shit, in fact it’s not even really an argument, it’s only an assertion so there’s not much more to respond to.

    Uh okay, I literally just wanted to have a discussion, why be a dipshit about it?

    Also you do realize "matter is the only substance and everything comes from it" is also "just an assertion"? The point is to argue your assertions.

    • RedDawn [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Harmful traits are selected against, positive traits aren’t selected for, evolution is not some teleological process where every trait has a “why”, it’s a process of random mutations. Forgive me if I can’t take seriously an argument that revolves entirely around a fictitious version of evolution, the author couldn’t take it seriously himself by actually reading something about how evolution works first before making it the cornerstone of his argument.

      You started being a “dipshit” claiming I didn’t read the whole article when I did, starting your comment with the purposely pretentious reddit “uh”, shut up. Nothing more obnoxious than somebody who does this crap and plays victim when their shit gets flung back at them.

      • space_comrade [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        Harmful traits are selected against, positive traits aren’t selected for, evolution is not some teleological process where every trait has a “why”, it’s a process of random mutations.

        Sure, but for natural selection to work you need some causal feedback loop, right? The evolved traits in the end need to interact with matter so they can be judged by nature (in the abstract sense of course, I don't want you accusing me of believing in Gaia or whatever) as positive or negative. They "why" is the mechanism of natural selection, and I just don't see how consciousness fits there.

        Also you didn't respond to my "spandrel" argument at all, which is what you're seemingly implying consciousness is, correct me if I'm wrong on this.

        You started being a “dipshit” claiming I didn’t read the whole article when I did, starting your comment with the purposely pretentious reddit “uh”, shut up. Nothing more obnoxious than somebody who does this crap and plays victim when their shit gets flung back at them.

        Fair point I guess, but you still escalated for no good reason, but fine we can do the debatebro shit, I can take it.

        • RedDawn [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          What is the negative effect of consciousness on the ability to pass down one’s genes that would cause it to definitely be selected against to the point that anybody could say it “couldn’t have evolved”?

          • space_comrade [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            It's not about consciousness being either positive or negative, by definition it has to be neutral from a physicalist perspective since all is matter and consciousness is wholly a product of matter and by itself has no chance of showing itself as either positive or negative. So a physicalist view kinda forces you to think of consciousness as an accident in evolution.

            Now if it's an accident why has consciousness even evolved in the exact way it did given these physicalist assumptions? It seems to have no reason to, unless you bring into the picture an intelligent designer or that it's this one in a trillion accident, both of which seem unlikely to me.

            To me (and the author of the article) it would make much more sense to assume consciousness itself is a basic substance of existence.

            • RedDawn [he/him]
              ·
              4 years ago

              It’s not about consciousness being either positive or negative

              It is about that. You can’t make a convincing case that something “could not have evolved” unless it has a negative affect on the ability to survive or reproduce, or is not heritable.

              • space_comrade [he/him]
                ·
                4 years ago

                It could have evolved, but if it has no causal effect then you can only regard it as a "evolutionary spandrel", or an accident basically. Neutral traits exist.

                The whole point of the argument is examining whether declaring it a spandrel makes sense. I don't think it does.

                • RedDawn [he/him]
                  ·
                  4 years ago

                  Literally all evolution is “accidental”, there is no such thing as purposeful evolution.

                  • space_comrade [he/him]
                    ·
                    4 years ago

                    I don't know how to explain it better honestly, but I'll try again.

                    You believe everything is matter and consciousness is somehow reducible to matter, right? That means consciousness in of itself does not have any causal effect on the material world, correct?

                    If so that means that consciousness cannot be part of any natural selection process, and if it wasn't why did it evolve in the exact way it did? Why even is there consciousness? And if there is why isn't it just a random collection of experiences that don't at all correspond to the material world at all? The only real answer from a physicalist perspective is that it's just this big coincidence, which just seems very unlikely to me. If your theory depends on assuming this huge coincidence then your theory is kind of in trouble IMO.