Robots, Zombies and Us : Understanding Consciousness

Robert Kirk

ISBN 10: 1474286593 / ISBN 13: 9781474286596

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Feb 2017, 2017

About this Item

Neuware - Could robots be genuinely intelligent Could they be conscious Could there be zombies Prompted by these questions Robert Kirk introduces the main problems of consciousness and sets out a new approach to solving them. He starts by discussing behaviourism, Turing's test of intelligence and Searle's famous Chinese Room argument, and goes on to examine dualism - the idea that consciousness requires something beyond the physical - together with its opposite, physicalism. Probing the idea of zombies, he concludes they are logically impossible. Having presented the central problems, he sketches his solution: a version of functionalism, according to which consciousness consists in the performance of functions.While there is wide agreement among philosophers about what the main problems of consciousness are, there is little agreement on how to go about solving them. With this powerful case for his version of functionalism, Kirk offers an engaging introduction to both the problems and a possible solution.

Seller Inventory # 9781474286596

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Robots, Zombies and Us : Understanding Consciousness
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Feb 2017
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1474286593
• ISBN 13: 9781474286596
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 216W x 139H x 17D millimeters 216 millimeters width by 139 millimeters height by 17 millimeters depth
• Weight: 296 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Could robots be genuinely intelligent? Could they be conscious? Could there be zombies? Prompted by these questions Robert Kirk introduces the main problems of consciousness and sets out a new approach to solving them.

He starts by discussing behaviourism, Turing's test of intelligence and Searle's famous Chinese Room argument, and goes on to examine dualism – the idea that consciousness requires something beyond the physical – together with its opposite, physicalism. Probing the idea of zombies, he concludes they are logically impossible. Having presented the central problems, he sketches his solution: a version of functionalism, according to which consciousness consists in the performance of functions.

While there is wide agreement among philosophers about what the main problems of consciousness are, there is little agreement on how to go about solving them. With this powerful case for his version of functionalism, Kirk offers an engaging introduction to both the problems and a possible solution.

About the Author

Robert Kirk is Emeritus Professor in the Philosophy Department at Nottingham University, UK.