By the way, Mother Nature doesn't care whether information gets transmitted by genes or through culture. If it travels just as well in socially transmitted patterns, that's fine.
Reason: Of course, Mother Nature isn't trying to transmit information anyway.
Dennett: Yes, but the point is that information is available for cultural transmission. It's just as visible to natural selection as information that's available for genetic transmission. So natural selection will recognize and favor information transmitted socially just as quickly, in fact more quickly, than genetically transmitted information.
That's one of the main reasons I bring in memes. I want to emphasize the fact that this is not just about the genetic evolution of human morality. Genetic evolution is not the only kind of evolution. In some respects, the dividing line between genetic and cultural evolution is not very important.
Reason: You argue that a self is a metaphor for our bodies and brains as they exist over time, something that provides us an outlook on what is going on in our own brains and in the brains of others. You claim that the self wouldn't exist if it weren't for the evolution of social interactions requiring each human animal to create within itself a subsystem designed for interacting with others. But this idea of a subsystem seems like a sneaky way of having a little homunculus sitting in a Cartesian theater again.
Dennett: For many years I joined in the general battle against a homunculus or one big bunch of them. Then it hit me: Homunculi are fine as long as they're stupid.
The straight Cartesian theory is that you've got a powerful homunculus at the center of the self doing all the work. But if you could break that homunculus down into lesser homunculi that only do part of the job, and break them into even lesser homunculi, and so on, you replace the central smart homunculus with a team of stupid homunculi. Then eventually you can replace it with a machine in place of a self. This view is called homuncular functionalism.
It's not an infinite regress. It bottoms out with the neurons. Yes, you can think of an individual neuron as a little homunculus. It doesn't help much, but you can do it. The point is that you take larger assemblages, cells, tissues, and the like. Then they begin to have individual tasks, larger projects. When you get to a high enough level, you've got homunculi that are really quite agent-like.
The self is the systems control of the whole body over time. If you're doing things over an extended period of time, the self is your way to keep track of them. You have to be able to remember where you were so you can pick up the threads and continue after an interruption. So you have projects. And you have goals and fears and hopes.
Reason: Is language the crucial invention?
Dennett: With language we can formulate things and remember the formulation and remind ourselves of what we screwed up the last time. And we can do it with other people.
Reason: There are a lot of people, from both the left and the right, who want to resist these ideas.
Dennett: Yes, that's right, from both the left and the right. I'm glad you noticed that. I figure I'm hitting the nail on the head.
Reason: The people on the right seem to be afraid that you've disenchanted the world. You've made it meaningless.
Dennett: I've disenchanted it, but I haven't made it meaningless. Meaning doesn't depend on magic.
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time.
|1.27.10 @ 2:37AM|#
I find Mr. Denetts arguments as expressed in this article very persuasive. Except for one thing, the statement at the beginning stateing that "Human Freedom ... is not an illusion; it is an objective phenomenon, distinct from all other biological conditions and found in only one species, us"
Leaving aside the tautology of "Human". I see little evidence that it can only be found in humans.
For example, I saw a NGC show about a couple of killer whales that killed a great white shark. Upon further examination, the biologists found that pod's members to be rather battle scarred compared to most killer whales.
The show described the phenomenom as a pod of killer whales that had a learned and shared culture of killing sharks.
Furthermore, other pods specialized in hunting fish, or seals. In the later case, by driving hard onto the shore nearly beaching themselves. The particular hunting culture seemed to effect the practical size of the pods involved.
While the show referred to this behavior as culture, I would not be surprised to learn of shunning or devotional behaviors involving killer whales that either refuse a pod's culture or somehow manage to change it, if only the biologists watch long enough.
If this is true, it would not be much different from the civilizing behavior applied to members of our society Mr. Dennett describes as increasing the scope of free will in humans.
|1.27.10 @ 2:42AM|#
A thoroughly impractical but interesting thought experiment would be what would happen to a pod of killer whales if you could attach a radar to each and every member.
I bet you would find a culture war as some of the whales chose to use the radar while others wanted to stick to the tried and true.
Pingback| 4.26.10 @ 10:41PM
Reason Magazine interview with Daniel Dennett links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
nfl jerseys|11.12.10 @ 11:20PM|#
rjr
uggssheepskin boots|11.23.10 @ 11:57PM|#
Bailey Trio button calls for the margin of any puppet stop aggressive and baptize aerosol repellent spray stain. Chase on spraying these Ugg Boots Online Store boots ugg boots friendly alternatives to make sure you can, at least, Uggs Australia Outlet in addition
uggssheepskin boots|11.24.10 @ 1:09AM|#
Cheap women Uggs access has become quite acceptable to articulate an architecture addiction for men and ladies adult warning beforehand how the 2000's. In recognition of history, 2008, Women Uggs grew surprise has already been added in the acceptance of male
uggssheepskin boots|11.24.10 @ 1:18AM|#
global application on behalf of Ambassador Ugg Boots Online Store , Deckers is accountable to the purchasers of the confusion absorption device, which are governed by surprise Australian producers and sellers use to Ugg Boots Outlet boots amplitude affidavit added