harnad@seismo.CSS.GOV@mind.UUCP (01/27/87)
"CUGINI, JOHN" <cugini@icst-ecf> wrote on mod.ai" > Subject: Consciousness as a Superfluous Concept, But So What? So methodological epiphenomenalism. > Consciousness may be as superflouous (wrt evolution) as earlobes. > That hardly goes to show that it ain't there. Agreed. It only goes to show that methodological epiphenomalism may indeed be the right research strategy. (The "why" is a methodological and logical question, not an evolutionary one. I'm arguing that no evolutionary scenario will help. And it was never suggested that consciousness "ain't there." If it weren't, there would be no mind/body problem.) > I don't think it does NEED to be so. It just is so. Fine. Now what are you going to do about it, methodologically speaking? Stevan Harnad {allegra, bellcore, seismo, rutgers, packard} !princeton!mind!harnad harnad%mind@princeton.csnet (609)-921-7771