Thomas Metzinger: Neuroethics, Psychedelics, and Conscious AI
Paradigm
Internalism-Externalism Debate and Locally Determined Conscious Experience
Over the years, many people have asked why a tunnel and not a bubble. The idea is that we're moving forward through time, not stationary. In the debate of internalism vs. externalism in philosophy of mind, the question arises about what determines the content of a mental state. The answer lies in the interplay between local and contemporaneous properties of the brain as well as the phenomenal properties. When all brain properties are fixed, so are the phenomenal properties. What you experience in the Ego Tunnel is determined by whether it's a radical perception or a hallucination. Philosophers also discuss intentional properties, which are likely determined by external properties. The truth and veracity of mental states are not solely determined by the brain state. With the free energy principle and other conceptual tools, we have a more refined understanding that it's not just inside and outside, but more nuanced like a nested Russian doll. Active inference allows for movement through the environment. However, when it comes to consciousness, the conscious experience is locally determined, which may not be sexy or intuitive for some.
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