Am I Self Aware?

[Deepwater6]

Am I truly self aware? Are you?

Edited September 30, 2012 by Deepwater6

[belovelife]

interesting question, do we exist?

 

i think therefore i am,

 

i post therefor i type

 

question is, are you, ?

 

i don't know, i would have to meet you first :lol:

[CraigD]

Am I truly self aware? Are you?

IMO, Yes and yes, because both you and I can pass the mirror test.

 

If this is a scientific question, if should have an objective procedure for answering. The mirror test is such a procedure.

[Eclogite]

Some of the time, yes. Most of us, I suspect, think of ourselves as the self-aware portion of our thinking. But much, perhaps most of our thinking is sub-conscious, or arguably non-conscious. Our self awareness is a veneer on an automatic system.

[Deepwater6]

I just got here, I'll be leaving very shortly. A brief speck of time and awareness in what may be an endless void on either side of it....and some people have no idea what to do with themselves on a Sunday afternoon. :shocked:

[Guest MacPhee]

IMO, Yes and yes, because both you and I can pass the mirror test.

 

If this is a scientific question, if should have an objective procedure for answering. The mirror test is such a procedure.

 

Is the mirror-test really an objective procedure? It relies on vision. It makes the assumption that the animal/person being tested has good eyesight - or indeed functioning eyes at all - in order to perceive the reflection in the mirror.

 

If we followed this assumption, mightn't we make this argument:

 

1. All blind persons, when placed in front of a mirror - fail to recognise, react to, or even be aware of their reflection.

2. Therefore all blind persons obviously lack self-awareness.

 

The argument reeks of sophistry. But what are the actual flaws in it?

[CraigD]

Is the mirror-test really an objective procedure? It relies on vision. It makes the assumption that the animal/person being tested has good eyesight - or indeed functioning eyes at all - in order to perceive the reflection in the mirror.

It's a good positive test, so, as the question is "are you or I self aware?", good for answering that question.

 

If we followed this assumption, mightn't we make this argument:

 

1. All blind persons, when placed in front of a mirror - fail to recognise, react to, or even be aware of their reflection.

2. Therefore all blind persons obviously lack self-awareness.

 

The argument reeks of sophistry. But what are the actual flaws in it?

A flaw is that this argument assumes that the mirror test is also a good negative test in all circumstances.

 

The argument is a good RAA argument, where this assumption is shown false by it following from it via the argument that "all blind [human] people lack self-awareness".

[Deepwater6]

Some of the time, yes. Most of us, I suspect, think of ourselves as the self-aware portion of our thinking. But much, perhaps most of our thinking is sub-conscious, or arguably non-conscious. Our self awareness is a veneer on an automatic system.

 

Very good description Eclogite. Most of my daily thought is not centered on my awareness. It's only when I make a conscious effort to know who or what I am does true awareness take shape in my mind. Thought about long enough it becomes a strange thought.

[Guest MacPhee]

It's a good positive test, so, as the question is "are you or I self aware?", good for answering that question.

 

 

A flaw is that this argument assumes that the mirror test is also a good negative test in all circumstances.

 

The argument is a good RAA argument, where this assumption is shown false by it following from it via the argument that "all blind [human] people lack self-awareness".

Thanks Craig - I was going to say in my post, that the argument was an example of "RAA"! But I left it out, because "RAA" feels somehow, unconvincing. I know Euclid used it a lot. But RAA seems to evoke a feeling of not being quite right.

[Iam Joy]

I'm not sure anymore...

 

I've been doing some reading recently about the myth of consciousness and for anyone interested in whether we are genuinely self-aware, or whether this is a self-deception, I recommend 'The Illusion of Conscious Will' by Daniel M Wegner - it's an excellent and thought-provoking book.

 

Consciousness science has not yet come close to discovering our elusive self-awareness.

 

I'm beginning to think that it doesn't actually exist in the mind, but is a sense; our genuine sixth sense, and that it exists thoughout our bodies. I'm going to write a paper about this soon.

 

There is an amazing article about self-awareness and the myth of consciousness that I read way back in the 90s that you can still get if you're a New Scientist subscriber - it's called 'The Zombie Within' and is well worth a read. :smile: