[MD] Science and Values

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[Platt]
Since you omitted my answers to your questions this exchange stops here.

[Arlo]
I didn't "omit" anything. The quotations you provided are still in the
archives. Why repeat them? They did not address EITHER question (anyone can
check their past emails to see that). Your inability to answer, and your
attempt to pawn off unrelated quotations as "answers" is what is stopping this
exchange. Should you care to actually ANSWER any of these questions (not that
you answered any from our last exchange either), I am game. So I will repeat.

How does the MOQ refute Hofstadter's view that consciousness is an emergent
pattern made possible by the increasing complexity of the substrata under it
(biological and inorganic patterns)?

According to you, does the MOQ say that consciousness existed before brains? If
so, where? Are you saying that "everything is consciousness", replacing
"Quality" with "consciousness" as in "inorganic patterns of consciousness"?
What about "mind"? Are atoms "inorganic patterns of mind"?

Finally, "purpose" too is an intellectual pattern. Do you dispute this? If so,
what is it if it is NOT an intellectual pattern? If the MOQ embraces BOTH
non-teleological and teleological positions, it must mean that these positions
are relativistic to the culture/values from which the question is asked, and as
such "purpose" (like all intellectual patterns) emerge from the social-cultural
level. Hofstadter would agree with this (in fact he says this very thing in his
book).

So, actually answer the questions? Or, you could pretend we are all too stupid
to read your past emails and act like you really did answer the questions and
play "poor ol' picked on Platt" when pressed to actually answer them. My bet is
the latter. But you could prove me wrong and actually give me some answers...
(Methinks I'll be adding these to long list of avoided and unanswered questions
that you use these tactics to try to skip over).

As for your article, anyone can write anything. I prefer to let me own personal
experiences guide my views. There are problems, deficiencies and areas for
improvement in all human endeavors, the Academy is no different, but overall it
is Good, notwithstanding the perennial right-wing anti-intellectual assaults.