Are insects ‘philosophical zombies’ with no inner life?

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Bee Brained by
Quote:But perhaps the problem is not that insects lack an inner life, but that they don’t have a way to communicate it in terms we can understand. It is hard for us to prise open a window into their minds. So maybe we misdiagnose animal brains as having machine-like properties simply because we understand how machines work – whereas, to date, we have only a fragmentary and imperfect insight into how even the simplest brains process, store and retrieve information.

However, there are now many signs that consciousness-like phenomena might exist not just among humans or even great apes – but that insects might have them, too. Not all of these lines of evidence are from experiments specifically designed to explore consciousness; in fact, some have lain buried in the literature for decades, even centuries, without anyone recognising their hidden significance.

Based on such evidence, several biologists (notably Eva Jablonka in Tel Aviv and Andrew Barron in Sydney), and philosophers (Peter Godfrey-Smith in Sydney and Colin Klein in Canberra) now suggest that consciousness-like phenomena might not have evolved late in our history, as we previously thought. Rather, they could be evolutionarily ancient and have arisen in the Cambrian era, around 500 million years ago.
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'

- Bertrand Russell


(This post was last modified: 2018-12-03, 07:33 PM by Sciborg_S_Patel.)
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(2018-12-02, 08:16 PM)Sciborg_S_Patel Wrote: Bee Brained by Lars Chittka[url=https://aeon.co/essays/inside-the-mind-of-a-bee-is-a-hive-of-sensory-activity][/url]
And assuming the above is true, is there a philosophical hierarchy in the insect kingdom? 
Are praying mantis and tarantula hawks the Royals? Bumbule bees the court jesters? Grubworms the unwashed masses?
I'm not sure were flys should be ranked, but i suspect they are important. In some way l don't understand. 
And dont even get me started on termites.....
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(2018-12-02, 11:36 PM)Oleo Wrote: I'm not sure were flys should be ranked, but i suspect they are important. In some way l don't understand. 
And dont even get me started on termites.....

Flies -> maggots -> natural waste disposal?

Termites and ants - possibility of collective mind?

Now, mosquitoes ... I can't think of a single useful thing about them.
I do not make any clear distinction between mind and God. God is what mind becomes when it has passed beyond the scale of our comprehension.
Freeman Dyson
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(2018-12-03, 12:00 AM)Kamarling Wrote: Now, mosquitoes ... I can't think of a single useful thing about them.
Most likely they are a food source for some other creature. (but I haven't researched this)
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Insects, like all species, try to avoid danger.  Why?
(2018-12-03, 12:00 AM)Kamarling Wrote: Flies -> maggots -> natural waste disposal?

Termites and ants - possibility of collective mind?

Now, mosquitoes ... I can't think of a single useful thing about them.

Maybe they’re just members of the chaos creators team? The dark side!
Oh my God, I hate all this.   Surprise
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