[MD] Consciousness a la Platt

[craigerb at comcast.net]

[Arlo]
> I'd say your cats will never achieve self-consciousness (as we have it) until
> their neurobiological complexity evolves to a point where they can hold shared
> attention and begin manipulating social symbols. 
> A strict physiologist might say that all it will take is for the
> neurobiological complexity to appear.

Koko the gorilla that was taught sign-language learned the word for Koko.
So presumedly, she had self-consciousness.
But we need to distinguish between 'being conscious of x' & 'having the
concept of x'.  A gorilla running thru the forest is conscious of a tree,
otherwise it couldn't avoid running into it, but doesn't have the
concept of a tree.
The question is: is a self' the kind of thing one can only be conscious of,
if one has that concept?
Or is it enough to have intentions, make choices, revise decisions & the like?   
Craig