ABOUT THE SPEAKER
John Searle - Philosopher
John Searle has made countless contributions to contemporary thinking about consciousness, language, artificial intelligence and rationality itself.

Why you should listen

American philosopher John Serle has made countless contributions to contemporary thinking about consciousness, language, artificial intelligence and rationality itself. In his early work, he focused on the nature of language and what we are conveying when we speak and how the intention behind what we intend to say can the meaning of words from context to context.

He is best known for his “Chinese Room” thought experiment, which challenges the notion of a truly intelligent artificial intelligence. In it, he imagines a room containing an individual, who speaks only English, working with a set of English instructions to write a series of Chinese characters in order to anonymous communicate with a Chinese speaker outside the room. If that individual follows the instructions carefully, she can effectively fool the Chinese speaker into thinking he’s talking to someone who understands his language. Serle argues that, at the very least, the metaphor raises deep complications as to whether or not one can truly describe convincing simulations of intelligence as intelligent.

He remains of firm believer that subjective experiences are real -- even if they don’t always describe things are they really are -- and are worth thinking about in objective terms because of it.

More profile about the speaker
John Searle | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxCERN

John Searle: Our shared condition -- consciousness

John Searle: A nosa condición en común - a consciencia

Filmed:
1,460,625 views

O filósofo John Searle expón os motivos para estudar a consciencia humana —e unha tras outra derriba as obxeccións máis comúns que impiden tomala en serio. Ao aprendermos máis sobre os procesos cerebrais que producen a consciencia, é un paso importante aceptarmos que a consciencia é un fenómeno biolóxico. E non, di Searle, a consciencia non é unha enorme simulación de ordenador.
- Philosopher
John Searle has made countless contributions to contemporary thinking about consciousness, language, artificial intelligence and rationality itself. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I'm going to talk about consciousness.
0
464
2617
Vouvos falar da consciencia
00:15
Why consciousness?
1
3081
1480
Por que da consciencia?
00:16
Well, it's a curiously neglected subject,
2
4561
2826
Porque é un asunto curiosamente descoidado
00:19
both in our scientific and our philosophical culture.
3
7387
3564
tanto na nosa cultura científica
coma na filosófica.
00:22
Now why is that curious?
4
10951
1272
E por que é curioso?
00:24
Well, it is the most important aspect of our lives
5
12223
3510
Ben, é o aspecto máis
importante das nosas vidas
00:27
for a very simple, logical reason,
6
15733
1958
por unha razón moi sinxela e lóxica,
nomeadamente, para que algo sexa
importante nas nosas vidas
00:29
namely, it's a necessary condition on anything
7
17691
2397
00:32
being important in our lives that we're conscious.
8
20088
2477
é necesario que esteamos conscientes.
00:34
You care about science, philosophy, music, art, whatever --
9
22565
3159
Se che gusta a ciencia, a filosofía,
a música, a arte, o que sexa,
00:37
it's no good if you're a zombie or in a coma, right?
10
25724
3478
non serve de nada se es un zombi
ou estás en coma, verdade?
00:41
So consciousness is number one.
11
29202
2344
Entón a consciencia é primordial.
00:43
The second reason is that when people do
12
31546
2468
A segunda razón é que cando
esperta o interese da xente,
00:46
get interested in it, as I think they should,
13
34014
2316
como penso que debería ser sempre,
00:48
they tend to say the most appalling things.
14
36330
2851
a miúdo din unhas cousas espantosas.
00:51
And then, even when they're not saying appalling things
15
39181
2159
E incluso cando non din cousas espantosas
00:53
and they're really trying to do serious research,
16
41340
2129
e realmente tratan de facer
investigación seria,
00:55
well, it's been slow. Progress has been slow.
17
43469
3855
mesmo entón o progreso é lento.
00:59
When I first got interested in this, I thought, well,
18
47324
3140
Cando me interesei por isto
por primeira vez, pensei,
01:02
it's a straightforward problem in biology.
19
50464
2206
é un problema de bioloxía moi claro.
Deixemos traballar a estes picacerebros
01:04
Let's get these brain stabbers to get busy and figure out
20
52670
2497
e que descubran como funciona o cerebro.
01:07
how it works in the brain.
21
55167
884
01:08
So I went over to UCSF and I talked to all
22
56051
1902
Así que fun á Universidade de California
01:09
the heavy-duty neurobiologists there,
23
57953
1915
a falar con todos os neurobiólogos
importantes de alí,
01:11
and they showed some impatience,
24
59868
1576
e impacientáronse un pouco,
01:13
as scientists often do when you ask them embarrassing questions.
25
61444
3383
como lles adoita pasar aos científicos
cando lles fan preguntas incómodas.
01:16
But the thing that struck me is, one guy said in exasperation,
26
64827
3758
Pero o que me chamou a atención
foi o que dixo exasperado
01:20
a very famous neurobiologist, he said, "Look,
27
68585
2015
un neurobiólogo moi famoso. Dixo:
01:22
in my discipline it's okay to be interested in consciousness,
28
70600
3575
"Na miña disciplina está ben
interesarse pola consciencia,
01:26
but get tenure first. Get tenure first."
29
74175
3567
mais primeiro obtén o posto.
Primeiro obtén unha praza."
01:29
Now I've been working on this for a long time.
30
77742
2718
Levo traballado nisto moito tempo.
Hoxe é posible obter praza fixa
01:32
I think now you might actually get tenure
31
80460
1978
traballando sobre a consciencia.
01:34
by working on consciousness.
32
82438
1291
01:35
If so, that's a real step forward.
33
83729
2613
De ser así, é un grande avance
01:38
Okay, now why then is this curious reluctance
34
86342
2905
Entón por que hai esta curiosa reticencia
01:41
and curious hostility to consciousness?
35
89247
1898
e hostilidade cara á consciencia?
01:43
Well, I think it's a combination of two features
36
91145
2730
Penso que é a combinación de dous aspectos
01:45
of our intellectual culture
37
93875
1905
da nosa cultura intelectual
01:47
that like to think they're opposing each other
38
95780
2526
que parece que son opostos,
01:50
but in fact they share a common set of assumptions.
39
98306
3623
mais que en realidade comparten
unha serie de supostos.
01:53
One feature is the tradition of religious dualism:
40
101929
3962
Un aspecto é a tradición
do dualismo relixioso.
01:57
Consciousness is not a part of the physical world.
41
105891
3325
A consciencia non é parte do mundo físico,
02:01
It's a part of the spiritual world.
42
109216
1927
é parte do mundo espiritual,
02:03
It belongs to the soul,
43
111143
1536
perténcelle á alma,
02:04
and the soul is not a part of the physical world.
44
112679
3296
e a alma non é parte do mundo físico.
02:07
That's the tradition of God, the soul and immortality.
45
115975
3031
Esta é a tradición de Deus,
da alma e da inmortalidade.
A outra tradición, que pensa
que é a oposta,
02:11
There's another tradition that thinks it's opposed to this
46
119006
2105
02:13
but accepts the worst assumption.
47
121111
2104
acepta o peor dos supostos.
02:15
That tradition thinks that we are heavy-duty scientific materialists:
48
123215
4078
Nesta tradición somos
materialistas científicos firmes:
02:19
Consciousness is not a part of the physical world.
49
127293
3465
A consciencia non é parte do mundo físico.
02:22
Either it doesn't exist at all, or it's something else,
50
130758
2646
Ou ben non existe en absoluto,
ou ben é outra cousa,
02:25
a computer program or some damn fool thing,
51
133404
2650
un programa de computador
ou algunha outra parvada,
02:28
but in any case it's not part of science.
52
136054
3195
mais en ningún caso é parte da ciencia.
02:31
And I used to get in an argument that really gave me a stomachache.
53
139249
2208
Eu adoitaba entrar en discusións
que me daban dor de cabeza.
02:33
Here's how it went.
54
141457
1619
Eran algo así:
02:35
Science is objective, consciousness is subjective,
55
143076
4032
A ciencia é obxectiva,
a consciencia subxectiva,
02:39
therefore there cannot be a science of consciousness.
56
147108
3327
por tanto non pode haber
unha ciencia da consciencia.
02:42
Okay, so these twin traditions are paralyzing us.
57
150435
6504
Ou sexa que estas tradicións xemelgas
nos están a paralizar.
02:48
It's very hard to get out of these twin traditions.
58
156939
2868
É moi difícil escapar delas.
02:51
And I have only one real message in this lecture,
59
159807
3018
E teño unha soa mensaxe neste relatorio:
02:54
and that is, consciousness is a biological phenomenon
60
162825
3384
a consciencia é un fenómeno biolóxico
02:58
like photosynthesis, digestion, mitosis --
61
166209
2889
como a fotosíntese, a dixestión, a mitose
03:01
you know all the biological phenomena -- and once you accept that,
62
169098
4335
—xa coñecedes todos
os fenómenos biolóxicos—
e unha vez que aceptamos isto,
03:05
most, though not all, of the hard problems
63
173433
2639
case todos os problemas serios
sobre a consciencia desaparecen.
03:08
about consciousness simply evaporate.
64
176072
2275
03:10
And I'm going to go through some of them.
65
178347
2053
Vou examinar algúns deles.
03:12
Okay, now I promised you to tell you some
66
180400
2333
Vale, prometinvos contar
algunhas das cousas espantosas
que se dixeron sobre a consciencia.
03:14
of the outrageous things said about consciousness.
67
182733
2739
03:17
One: Consciousness does not exist.
68
185472
3600
Unha: a consciencia non existe,
é unha ilusión, coma os solpores.
03:21
It's an illusion, like sunsets.
69
189072
2230
03:23
Science has shown sunsets and rainbows are illusions.
70
191302
5065
A ciencia demostrou que os solpores
e os arcos da vella son ilusións,
así que a consciencia é unha ilusión.
03:28
So consciousness is an illusion.
71
196367
1923
Dúas: quizais exista, pero é outra cousa,
03:30
Two: Well, maybe it exists, but it's really something else.
72
198290
3255
03:33
It's a computer program running in the brain.
73
201545
3781
un programa de computador
que funciona no cerebro.
03:37
Three: No, the only thing that exists is really behavior.
74
205326
3814
Tres: non, o único que existe
é o comportamento.
03:41
It's embarrassing how influential behaviorism was,
75
209140
3608
Resulta moi vergonzoso
o influente que foi o condutismo,
03:44
but I'll get back to that.
76
212748
1355
mais xa retomarei isto.
03:46
And four: Maybe consciousness exists,
77
214103
2734
E catro: quizais a consciencia exista,
03:48
but it can't make any difference to the world.
78
216837
2143
mais non pode cambiar o mundo.
03:50
How could spirituality move anything?
79
218980
2792
Como ía poder mover nada
a espiritualidade?
03:53
Now, whenever somebody tells me that, I think,
80
221772
1795
Cando alguén me di iso, penso:
03:55
you want to see spirituality move something?
81
223567
2290
"Queres ver como a
espiritualidade move algo?"
03:57
Watch. I decide consciously to raise my arm,
82
225857
3272
Mirade, decido de xeito consciente
levantar o brazo
04:01
and the damn thing goes up. (Laughter)
83
229129
2609
e o condenado levántase (Risas)
04:03
Furthermore, notice this:
84
231738
3771
Ademais, fixádevos nisto:
04:07
We do not say, "Well, it's a bit like the weather in Geneva.
85
235509
3995
Non dicimos: "É un pouco
como o tempo en Xenebra.
04:11
Some days it goes up and some days it doesn't go up."
86
239504
2648
Algúns días sobe e outros non."
04:14
No. It goes up whenever I damn well want it to.
87
242152
2655
Non, sobe cada vez que a min me dá a gana.
04:16
Okay. I'm going to tell you how that's possible.
88
244807
2038
Vouvos dicir como é posíbel.
04:18
Now, I haven't yet given you a definition.
89
246845
3771
Aínda non vos dei unha definición,
04:22
You can't do this if you don't give a definition.
90
250616
2252
e isto non se pode facer
sen unha definición.
04:24
People always say consciousness is very hard to define.
91
252868
3092
Sempre dicimos que a consciencia
é moi difícil de definir.
Eu penso que é bastante sinxelo,
04:27
I think it's rather easy to define
92
255960
1883
se non tratamos de dar
unha definición científica,
04:29
if you're not trying to give a scientific definition.
93
257843
2209
04:32
We're not ready for a scientific definition,
94
260052
2280
para a cal non estamos preparados.
Mais aquí tedes unha
de sentido común:
04:34
but here's a common-sense definition.
95
262332
1739
04:36
Consciousness consists of all those states of feeling
96
264071
2849
A consciencia consiste
en todos os estados de sentimento,
04:38
or sentience or awareness.
97
266920
2068
de sensación ou de alerta.
04:40
It begins in the morning when you wake up from a dreamless sleep,
98
268988
3558
Comeza pola mañá cando acordamos
dun sono sen soños
04:44
and it goes on all day until you fall asleep
99
272546
2469
e continúa ata que adormecemos,
04:47
or die or otherwise become unconscious.
100
275015
3198
morremos ou quedamos inconscientes.
04:50
Dreams are a form of consciousness on this definition.
101
278213
3120
Os soños son unha forma de consciencia,
segundo esta definición.
04:53
Now, that's the common-sense definition. That's our target.
102
281333
2902
Ben, esta é a definición
de sentido común, o noso obxectivo.
04:56
If you're not talking about that, you're not talking about consciousness.
103
284235
3485
Se non estamos falando disto,
non estamos falando da consciencia.
04:59
But they think, "Well, if that's it, that's an awful problem.
104
287720
3500
A xente pensa: "se a definición é así,
temos un problema horroroso.
05:03
How can such a thing exist as part of the real world?"
105
291220
3958
Como pode existir tal cousa
no mundo real?"
05:07
And this, if you've ever had a philosophy course,
106
295178
1890
Se algunha vez fostes
a unha clase de filosofía
05:09
this is known as the famous mind-body problem.
107
297068
3219
este é o famoso problema mente-corpo.
05:12
I think that has a simple solution too. I'm going to give it to you.
108
300287
2845
Penso que ten tamén unha solución sinxela.
Vóuvola dar:
05:15
And here it is: All of our conscious states, without exception,
109
303132
4420
todos os estados de consciencia,
sen excepción,
05:19
are caused by lower-level neurobiological processes in the brain,
110
307552
5525
están causados por procesos
neurobiolóxicos de baixo nivel,
05:25
and they are realized in the brain
111
313077
2181
e realízanse no cerebro
como de alto nivel
ou como características de sistema.
05:27
as higher-level or system features.
112
315258
2334
05:29
It's about as mysterious as the liquidity of water.
113
317592
3156
É tan misterioso como
o estado líquido da auga.
05:32
Right? The liquidity is not an extra juice squirted out
114
320748
3475
O estado líquido non é un zume
que expulsan as moléculas de H2O,
05:36
by the H2O molecules.
115
324223
1690
05:37
It's a condition that the system is in.
116
325913
2878
é unha condición en que está o sistema,
05:40
And just as the jar full of water can go from liquid to solid
117
328791
5162
e do mesmo xeito que
unha xerra chea de auga
pode pasar de líquido a sólido
05:45
depending on the behavior of the molecules,
118
333953
1953
dependendo do comportamento das moléculas,
05:47
so your brain can go from a state of being conscious
119
335906
2996
o cerebro pode pasar
dun estado de consciencia
05:50
to a state of being unconscious,
120
338902
1640
a un estado de inconsciencia
05:52
depending on the behavior of the molecules.
121
340542
2986
dependendo do comportamento das moléculas.
05:55
The famous mind-body problem is that simple.
122
343528
4385
O famoso problema mente-corpo
é así de sinxelo.
05:59
All right? But now we get into some harder questions.
123
347913
3177
Mais agora vaiamos a
preguntas máis complicadas:
06:03
Let's specify the exact features of consciousness,
124
351090
3444
imos especificar as características
exactas da consciencia
06:06
so that we can then answer those four objections
125
354534
2472
para despois podermos responder
esas catro obxeccións
06:09
that I made to it.
126
357006
1287
que propuxen antes.
06:10
Well, the first feature is, it's real and irreducible.
127
358293
4267
A primeira, que a consciencia
é real e irredutíbel;
06:14
You can't get rid of it.
128
362560
2054
non podemos desfacernos dela.
06:16
You see, the distinction between reality and illusion
129
364614
4171
Veredes, a distinción
entre realidade e ilusión
é a diferenza entre como
nos parecen as cousas de xeito consciente
06:20
is the distinction between how things
130
368785
2669
06:23
consciously seem to us and how they really are.
131
371454
3874
e como son en realidade.
Conscientemente, parécenos que hai
06:27
It consciously seems like there's --
132
375328
1876
06:29
I like the French "arc-en-ciel" —
133
377204
1668
—gústame a expresión francesa
"arc-en-ciel"—
06:30
it seems like there's an arch in the sky,
134
378872
2198
parece que hai un arco no ceo
06:33
or it seems like the sun is setting over the mountains.
135
381070
3780
ou parece que o sol está poñéndose
tras das montañas.
06:36
It consciously seems to us, but that's not really happening.
136
384850
3097
Parécenolo conscientemente,
mais non está pasando en realidade.
06:39
But for that distinction between
137
387947
1927
Mais nesa distinción entre
06:41
how things consciously seem and how they really are,
138
389874
2465
como parecen as cousas
e como son en realidade,
06:44
you can't make that distinction for the very existence of consciousness,
139
392339
4091
non podemos incluír a distinción
para a propia existencia da consciencia
06:48
because where the very existence of consciousness is concerned,
140
396430
3851
porque ata onde concirne á consciencia,
06:52
if it consciously seems to you that you are conscious,
141
400281
2980
se de xeito consciente
pensas que es consciente,
06:55
you are conscious.
142
403261
1885
entón es consciente.
06:57
I mean, if a bunch of experts come to me and say,
143
405146
3354
Se un grupo de expertos vén e me di:
"Somos uns neurobiólogos moi importantes
e fixemos un estudio sobre ti, Searle,
07:00
"We are heavy-duty neurobiologists and we've done a study
144
408500
2286
07:02
of you, Searle, and we're convinced you are not conscious,
145
410786
3155
e estamos convencidos
de que non es consciente,
07:05
you are a very cleverly constructed robot,"
146
413941
2028
es un robot moi ben construído",
07:07
I don't think, "Well, maybe these guys are right, you know?"
147
415969
3313
eu non vou pensar:
"Pode que estes tipos teñan razón".
07:11
I don't think that for a moment, because, I mean,
148
419282
2563
Nin se me pasa pola cabeza,
porque, quero dicir,
pode que Descartes cometera moitos erros,
mais tiña razón en que
07:13
Descartes may have made a lot of mistakes, but he was right about this.
149
421845
2910
07:16
You cannot doubt the existence of your own consciousness.
150
424755
2955
non podemos dubidar da existencia
da nosa propia consciencia.
07:19
Okay, that's the first feature of consciousness.
151
427710
2173
Esta é a primeira característica
da consciencia:
07:21
It's real and irreducible.
152
429883
1941
é real e irredutíbel,
07:23
You cannot get rid of it by showing that it's an illusion
153
431824
3231
non podes desfacerte dela
demostrando que é unha ilusión
07:27
in a way that you can with other standard illusions.
154
435055
3229
do mesmo modo que si podes
coas outras ilusións normais.
07:30
Okay, the second feature is this one
155
438284
2532
A segunda característica
é a que nos ten dado tantos problemas,
07:32
that has been such a source of trouble to us,
156
440816
2465
e consiste en que
todos os estados de consciencia
07:35
and that is, all of our conscious states
157
443281
2182
07:37
have this qualitative character to them.
158
445463
2964
teñen un carácter cualitativo.
07:40
There's something that it feels like to drink beer
159
448427
2396
O que sentimos ao beber cervexa
07:42
which is not what it feels like to do your income tax
160
450823
2954
non é o que sentimos ao facer
a declaración da renda
07:45
or listen to music, and this qualitative feel
161
453777
3068
ou ao escoitar música, e esta
sensación cualitativa
07:48
automatically generates a third feature,
162
456845
2561
automaticamente xera
unha terceira característica,
07:51
namely, conscious states are by definition subjective
163
459406
3794
nomeadamente, os estados de consciencia
son por definición subxectivos
07:55
in the sense that they only exist as experienced
164
463200
2955
no sentido que só existen
en tanto son experimentados
07:58
by some human or animal subject,
165
466155
2195
por un suxeito humano ou animal,
08:00
some self that experiences them.
166
468350
1873
por un ser que os experimenta.
Quizais sexamos quen
de construír unha máquina consciente,
08:02
Maybe we'll be able to build a conscious machine.
167
470223
2383
08:04
Since we don't know how our brains do it,
168
472606
2153
mais como non sabemos
como o fan os nosos cerebros,
08:06
we're not in a position, so far, to build a conscious machine.
169
474759
4135
de momento, non podemos construíla.
08:10
Okay. Another feature of consciousness
170
478894
2775
Outra característica da consciencia
08:13
is that it comes in unified conscious fields.
171
481669
4151
é que se dá en campos
de consciencia unificados.
Así, non teño a visión
de xente diante de min,
08:17
So I don't just have the sight of the people in front of me
172
485820
2356
08:20
and the sound of my voice and the weight of my shoes
173
488176
2714
e o son da miña voz
e o peso dos meus zapatos
08:22
against the floor, but they occur to me
174
490890
2175
contra o chan, senón que me ocorren
08:25
as part of one single great conscious field
175
493065
3482
como parte dun único campo de consciencia
que se estende cara a adiante
e cara a atrás.
08:28
that stretches forward and backward.
176
496547
2016
08:30
That is the key to understanding
177
498563
1769
Esta é a chave para comprendermos
08:32
the enormous power of consciousness.
178
500332
2439
o enorme poder da consciencia.
08:34
And we have not been able to do that in a robot.
179
502771
2944
E non fomos quen de facelo nun robot.
08:37
The disappointment of robotics derives from the fact
180
505715
2388
A decepción da robótica deriva
08:40
that we don't know how to make a conscious robot,
181
508103
2012
de non sabermos como facer
un robot consciente
08:42
so we don't have a machine that can do this kind of thing.
182
510115
3508
polo que non temos unha máquina
que poida facer estas cousas.
08:45
Okay, the next feature of consciousness,
183
513623
2509
A seguinte característica da consciencia,
despois deste marabilloso
campo de consciencia unificado,
08:48
after this marvelous unified conscious field,
184
516132
3115
é que funciona de forma causal
no noso comportamento.
08:51
is that it functions causally in our behavior.
185
519247
2792
08:54
I gave you a scientific demonstration by raising my hand,
186
522039
3203
Fixen unha demostración científica
levantando a miña man,
08:57
but how is that possible?
187
525242
1750
mais como é posíbel?
08:58
How can it be that this thought in my brain
188
526992
3764
Como pode ser que
un pensamento no meu cerebro
09:02
can move material objects?
189
530756
2200
poida mover obxectos materiais?
09:04
Well, I'll tell you the answer.
190
532956
1366
Vouvos dar a resposta.
En realidade non sabemos
a resposta en detalle,
09:06
I mean, we don't know the detailed answer,
191
534322
1771
09:08
but we know the basic part of the answer, and that is,
192
536093
3090
mais sabemos a parte básica:
09:11
there is a sequence of neuron firings,
193
539183
2293
hai unha secuencia
de actividades neuronais
09:13
and they terminate where the acetylcholine
194
541476
3087
que remata onde se segrega a acetilcolina
09:16
is secreted at the axon end-plates of the motor neurons.
195
544563
2821
nas terminacións axonais
das neuronas motoras.
09:19
Sorry to use philosophical terminology here,
196
547384
2075
Desculpádeme por usar
xerga filosófica,
09:21
but when it's secreted at the axon end-plates of the motor neurons,
197
549459
4016
mais cando se segrega nas terminacións
axonais das neuronas motoras,
09:25
a whole lot of wonderful things happen in the ion channels
198
553475
2598
pasan un montón de cousas
marabillosas nos canais iónicos
09:28
and the damned arm goes up.
199
556073
2094
e o condenado brazo elévase.
09:30
Now, think of what I told you.
200
558167
2124
Agora pensade no que vos dixen.
09:32
One and the same event,
201
560291
1742
Un mesmo evento,
09:34
my conscious decision to raise my arm
202
562033
3035
a miña decisión consciente
de levantar o brazo
09:37
has a level of description where it has all of these
203
565068
2795
ten un nivel de descrición
onde aparecen todas estas
09:39
touchy-feely spiritual qualities.
204
567863
2146
calidades sentimentais e espirituais.
09:42
It's a thought in my brain, but at the same time,
205
570009
2401
É un pensamento no meu cerebro
mais ao mesmo tempo,
09:44
it's busy secreting acetylcholine
206
572410
1986
está ocupado segregando acetilcolina
09:46
and doing all sorts of other things
207
574396
1535
e facendo moitas outras cousas
09:47
as it makes its way from the motor cortex
208
575931
2788
a medida que se abre camiño
dende o córtex motor
09:50
down through the nerve fibers in the arm.
209
578719
2697
ata as fibras nerviosas do meu brazo.
09:53
Now, what that tells us is that our traditional vocabularies
210
581416
3816
Isto o que nos di é que
o noso vocabulario tradicional
09:57
for discussing these issues are totally obsolete.
211
585232
3384
para falar destes asuntos
está totalmente obsoleto.
10:00
One and the same event has a level of description
212
588616
3257
O mesmo suceso ten
un nivel de descrición
10:03
where it's neurobiological, and another level of description
213
591873
2966
no cal é neurobiolóxico
e outro nivel de descrición
10:06
where it's mental, and that's a single event,
214
594839
2191
no que é mental,
e é un mesmo suceso,
10:09
and that's how nature works. That's how it's possible
215
597030
2110
e é como traballa a natureza.
Así é como é posíbel
10:11
for consciousness to function causally.
216
599140
3031
que a consciencia funcione causalmente.
10:14
Okay, now with that in mind,
217
602171
2859
Vale, agora con isto en mente,
10:17
with going through these various features of consciousness,
218
605030
3067
logo de repasar as distintas
características da consciencia,
10:20
let's go back and answer some of those early objections.
219
608097
3172
volvamos atrás para responder
algunhas desas primeiras obxeccións.
10:23
Well, the first one I said was, consciousness doesn't exist,
220
611269
3609
A primeira que mencionei foi
que a consciencia non existe,
que é unha ilusión. Esa xa a respondín.
10:26
it's an illusion. Well, I've already answered that.
221
614878
1834
10:28
I don't think we need to worry about that.
222
616712
1516
Penso que non debemos
preocuparnos por iso.
10:30
But the second one had an incredible influence,
223
618228
3864
Mais a segunda tivo
unha influencia incríbel,
10:34
and may still be around, and that is,
224
622092
1844
e se cadra sigue escoitándose:
10:35
"Well, if consciousness exists, it's really something else.
225
623936
3191
"Se a consciencia existe, é outra cousa.
10:39
It's really a digital computer program running in your brain
226
627127
3763
En realidade é un programa dixital
de ordenador instalado no cerebro,
10:42
and that's what we need to do to create consciousness
227
630890
2505
e o que temos que facer
para crear consciencia
10:45
is get the right program.
228
633395
1496
é dar co programa adecuado.”
10:46
Yeah, forget about the hardware. Any hardware will do
229
634891
2239
Si, esquecede o hardware,
calquera hardware valerá
10:49
provided it's rich enough and stable enough to carry the program."
230
637130
2960
sempre que sexa suficientemente rico
e estábel para soportar o programa."
10:52
Now, we know that that's wrong.
231
640090
3074
Agora sabemos que isto é incorrecto.
10:55
I mean, anybody who's thought about computers at all
232
643164
3009
Calquera que pensara en computadores
10:58
can see that that's wrong, because computation
233
646173
2464
pode ver que é erróneo,
porque a computación
11:00
is defined as symbol manipulation,
234
648637
2415
defínese como a manipulación de símbolos,
11:03
usually thought of as zeros as ones, but any symbols will do.
235
651052
2884
normalmente de ceros e uns,
mais calquera símbolo vale.
11:05
You get an algorithm that you can program
236
653936
3167
Temos un algoritmo que podemos programar
11:09
in a binary code, and that's the defining trait
237
657103
3107
en código binario, e ese
é o trazo definitorio
11:12
of the computer program.
238
660210
2051
do programa de computador.
11:14
But we know that that's purely syntactical. That's symbolic.
239
662261
3883
Mais sabemos que isto é puramente
sintáctico, é simbólico;
11:18
We know that actual human consciousness has something more than that.
240
666144
4015
sabemos que a consciencia humana
ten algo máis que iso,
11:22
It's got a content in addition to the syntax.
241
670159
3193
ten un contido, ademais da sintaxe;
11:25
It's got a semantics.
242
673352
1497
ten semántica.
11:26
Now that argument, I made that argument 30 --
243
674849
2489
Este argumento propúxeno hai trinta
—mi madriña, non quero nin pensalo—
11:29
oh my God, I don't want to think about it —
244
677338
1291
11:30
more than 30 years ago,
245
678629
1342
hai máis de trinta anos,
11:31
but there's a deeper argument implicit in what I've told you,
246
679971
2490
mais hai un argumento implícito
no que vos acabo de dicir,
11:34
and I want to tell you that argument briefly, and that is,
247
682461
3043
e quérovolo contar brevemente; é que
11:37
consciousness creates an observer-independent reality.
248
685504
4589
a consciencia crea unha realidade
independente do observador.
11:42
It creates a reality of money, property, government,
249
690093
3488
Crea unha realidade do diñeiro,
da propiedade, do goberno,
11:45
marriage, CERN conferences,
250
693581
3972
do matrimonio, das conferencias do CERN,
11:49
cocktail parties and summer vacations,
251
697553
2619
dos cócteles e
das vacacións de verán,
11:52
and all of those are creations of consciousness.
252
700172
2749
e todas son creacións da consciencia.
11:54
Their existence is observer-relative.
253
702921
2835
A súa existencia
está en relación co observador.
11:57
It's only relative to conscious agents that a piece of paper
254
705756
3503
Só en relación con axentes conscientes
un anaco de papel é diñeiro,
ou un conxunto de edificios
é unha universidade.
12:01
is money or that a bunch of buildings is a university.
255
709259
2847
12:04
Now, ask yourself about computation.
256
712106
3874
Agora, preguntádevos algo
sobre a computación.
12:07
Is that absolute, like force and mass and gravitational attraction?
257
715980
3669
É absoluta, como a forza, a masa
e a atracción gravitacional?
12:11
Or is it observer-relative?
258
719649
2132
Ou está en relación co observador?
12:13
Well, some computations are intrinsic.
259
721781
3527
Ben, algunhas computacións
son intrínsecas.
12:17
I add two plus two to get four.
260
725308
1911
Dous máis dous son catro.
12:19
That's going on no matter what anybody thinks.
261
727219
2571
Funciona sen que importe
o que pense ninguén,
12:21
But when I haul out my pocket calculator
262
729790
2489
mais cando tiro do peto a calculadora
12:24
and do the calculation, the only intrinsic phenomenon
263
732279
3782
e fago os cálculos, o único
fenómeno intrínseco
12:28
is the electronic circuit and its behavior.
264
736061
3175
é o circuíto electrónico e
o seu comportamento.
12:31
That's the only absolute phenomenon.
265
739236
1764
É o único fenómeno absoluto,
12:33
All the rest is interpreted by us.
266
741000
2428
todo o demais é interpretado por nós.
12:35
Computation only exists relative to consciousness.
267
743428
3841
A computación só existe
en relación á consciencia;
12:39
Either a conscious agent is carrying out the computation,
268
747269
2775
ou ben un axente consciente
leva a cabo a computación,
12:42
or he's got a piece of machinery that admits of a computational interpretation.
269
750044
3643
ou ten unha máquina que admite
unha interpretación computacional.
12:45
Now that doesn't mean computation is arbitrary.
270
753687
3068
Isto non quere dicir que
a computación sexa arbitraria.
12:48
I spent a lot of money on this hardware.
271
756755
2448
Gastei un montón de cartos neste hardware.
12:51
But we have this persistent confusion
272
759203
2146
Mais temos unha confusión persistente
12:53
between objectivity and subjectivity as features of reality
273
761349
4721
entre obxectividade e subxectividade
en tanto características da realidade,
12:58
and objectivity and subjectivity as features of claims.
274
766070
3928
e obxectividade e subxectividade
en tanto características de afirmacións.
13:01
And the bottom line of this part of my talk is this:
275
769998
3166
A esencia desta parte do
meu relatorio é a seguinte:
13:05
You can have a completely objective science,
276
773164
3651
podemos ter unha ciencia
completamente obxectiva,
13:08
a science where you make objectively true claims,
277
776815
2912
unha ciencia onde facemos afirmacións
obxectivamente certas
13:11
about a domain whose existence is subjective,
278
779727
3430
sobre un campo cuxa
existencia é subxectiva,
13:15
whose existence is in the human brain
279
783157
3235
cuxa existencia reside no cerebro humano
e consiste en estados
subxectivos de sentimento,
13:18
consisting of subjective states of sentience
280
786392
2139
13:20
or feeling or awareness.
281
788531
1685
de sensación ou de alerta.
13:22
So the objection that you can't have an objective science of consciousness
282
790216
4337
Entón a obxección de que non se pode
ter unha ciencia obxectiva da consciencia
13:26
because it's subjective and science is objective, that's a pun.
283
794553
4208
porque é subxectiva e a ciencia
é obxectiva, é un xogo de palabras.
É só un xogo de palabras
sobre obxectividade e subxectividade.
13:30
That's a bad pun on objectivity and subjectivity.
284
798761
2709
13:33
You can make objective claims
285
801470
2324
Pódense facer afirmacións obxectivas
13:35
about a domain that is subjective in its mode of existence,
286
803794
4042
sobre un campo que é subxectivo
no seu modo de existir,
e de feito é o que fan os neurólogos.
13:39
and indeed that's what neurologists do.
287
807836
1573
13:41
I mean, you have patients that actually suffer pains,
288
809409
2490
Hai pacientes que sofren dores reais,
13:43
and you try to get an objective science of that.
289
811899
2689
e trátase de facer
unha ciencia obxectiva diso.
Vale, prometín refutar
todos estes individuos,
13:46
Okay, I promised to refute all these guys,
290
814588
2072
13:48
and I don't have an awful lot of time left,
291
816660
1575
e non me queda moito tempo,
13:50
but let me refute a couple more of them.
292
818235
1908
mais deixádeme refutar un par deles máis.
13:52
I said that behaviorism ought to be
293
820143
2235
Dixen que o condutismo debía ser
13:54
one of the great embarrassments of our intellectual culture,
294
822378
3289
unha das vergoñas máis grandes
da nosa cultura intelectual,
13:57
because it's refuted the moment you think about it.
295
825667
2893
porque é refutado no momento
en que pensas nel.
14:00
Your mental states are identical with your behavior?
296
828560
2857
Os teus estados mentais son idénticos
ao teu comportamento?
14:03
Well, think about the distinction between feeling a pain
297
831417
3151
Pensade na distinción
entre sentir unha dor
14:06
and engaging in pain behavior.
298
834568
1703
e unha conduta de dor.
Non vou demostrar a conduta
de dor, pero pódovos dicir
14:08
I won't demonstrate pain behavior, but I can tell you
299
836271
1988
14:10
I'm not having any pains right now.
300
838259
1839
que agora non estou a ter ningunha dor.
14:12
So it's an obvious mistake. Why did they make the mistake?
301
840098
4120
Así que é un erro obvio.
Por que o cometeron?
14:16
The mistake was — and you can go back and read
302
844218
1884
O erro foi —e podedes ir e ler
14:18
the literature on this, you can see this over and over —
303
846102
2589
o que hai escrito sobre isto,
podédelo ver unha e outra vez—
14:20
they think if you accept the irreducible existence
304
848691
4016
pensar que se aceptamos
a existencia irredutíbel
14:24
of consciousness, you're giving up on science.
305
852707
2795
da consciencia, estamos
renunciando á ciencia,
14:27
You're giving up on 300 years of human progress
306
855502
3071
estamos renunciando a 300 anos de progreso
14:30
and human hope and all the rest of it.
307
858573
1749
e esperanza humanos e todo o demais.
14:32
And the message I want to leave you with is,
308
860322
2900
E a mensaxe que quero deixarvos
14:35
consciousness has to become accepted
309
863222
2443
é que a consciencia ten que ser aceptada
14:37
as a genuine biological phenomenon,
310
865665
2488
como un fenómeno biolóxico xenuíno,
14:40
as much subject to scientific analysis
311
868153
2467
tan suxeito á análise científica
14:42
as any other phenomenon in biology,
312
870620
1960
como calquera outro fenómeno biolóxico,
14:44
or, for that matter, the rest of science.
313
872580
2154
ou, por tanto, coma o resto da ciencia.
14:46
Thank you very much.
314
874734
1382
Moitas grazas.
14:48
(Applause)
315
876116
5493
(Aplausos)

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
John Searle - Philosopher
John Searle has made countless contributions to contemporary thinking about consciousness, language, artificial intelligence and rationality itself.

Why you should listen

American philosopher John Serle has made countless contributions to contemporary thinking about consciousness, language, artificial intelligence and rationality itself. In his early work, he focused on the nature of language and what we are conveying when we speak and how the intention behind what we intend to say can the meaning of words from context to context.

He is best known for his “Chinese Room” thought experiment, which challenges the notion of a truly intelligent artificial intelligence. In it, he imagines a room containing an individual, who speaks only English, working with a set of English instructions to write a series of Chinese characters in order to anonymous communicate with a Chinese speaker outside the room. If that individual follows the instructions carefully, she can effectively fool the Chinese speaker into thinking he’s talking to someone who understands his language. Serle argues that, at the very least, the metaphor raises deep complications as to whether or not one can truly describe convincing simulations of intelligence as intelligent.

He remains of firm believer that subjective experiences are real -- even if they don’t always describe things are they really are -- and are worth thinking about in objective terms because of it.

More profile about the speaker
John Searle | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

This site was created in May 2015 and the last update was on January 12, 2020. It will no longer be updated.

We are currently creating a new site called "eng.lish.video" and would be grateful if you could access it.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to write comments in your language on the contact form.

Privacy Policy

Developer's Blog

Buy Me A Coffee