[Serious Phil] Rejecting the Hypothesis of Phenomenal Information

[SWM]

--- In Phil-Sci-Mind at yahoogroups.com, "walto" <Philscimind at ...> wrote:
 
> --- In Phil-Sci-Mind at yahoogroups.com, "Peter D" <Philscimind@> wrote:
> 
> > > 
> > > Our "world" consists of the representational mappings we build and maintain in our heads. 
> > 
> > *The* world doesn't consist of representational mappings in our head. Why not call the mappings a representation (or vice versa) and save "world" for the territory, the represented.
> > You might avoid some mistakes that way..
> > 
> 
> Yes, I think that's an extremely important point.  It's a common confusion that ought to be avoided.
>

How else do you think brains pick up and carry information which is organized enough to make sense of?
 
> 
> > >There is good reason to believe that these mappings have some degree of accuracy (I would argue a fairly high degree) so they ARE the world we connect with,
> > 
> > ..that's an example. It is a horrendous non sequitur to say
> > "M is an accurate map of the world...therefore it IS the world!!"
> > 
> 
> Right.  I'm curious also, however, what the "good reason" there is claimed to be to believe that these "mappings" have a high degree of accuracy.
> 

Evolution, as in entities with systems that did not do an adequate job of relating to their environments would not have gotten as far as we (and many other species on the planet) have gotten.

Of course, brains aren't the only mechanism for handling environmental inputs adequately (or adequately enough to ensure survival) but, certainly, creatures like ourselves with brains like ours are a success story for evolution (so far anyway) given that we have been pushing other species out of their niches for thousands of years now and now overrun the planet.


> Is this an abductive argument or what?
> 
> > > i.e., representing seems to be how we connect with external stimuli.
> > 
> > A connection with the world is not the world.
> > 
> > 
> 
> Well, I'm not sure Neil has made that same mistake here...but I again wonder what it means to say and how one could know (or have good reason to believe) that representing "is how we connect with" the world (or external stimuli--if that's what "the world" is). 
> 
> W
> 
> 
> 
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