This neurobiological/phenomenological approach has been taken to its
logical extreme by Robert Lanza with his theory of biocentrism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biocentrism_%28c%29
). He works with stem cells and cloning, so he has much to say about
the nature of simulation as it relates to biological functioning.
Biocentrism is his application of this understanding to cosmology. I
was surprised to find his writing in a popular political blog in the
US recently - perhaps a promising sign of the times:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-lanza/anything-beyond-the-unive_b_455260.html
Lanza's position echoes the irrealist philosophy of Nelson Goodman,
which was seeking a path beyond idealism and realism by describing
different "world versions." Personally, I find it useful to consider
how our our different "worlds" are simultaneously shaped by embodiment
(biology), enaction (intention/agency), enculturation (cultural
surroundings), and entrainment (the laws of physics). As Avi's wonder
paper pointed out, our virtual tools are enabling us to more fluidly
explore the paradoxical nexus of these perspectives. Though of course
the Jain story of the seven blind monks and the elephant opened the
door to this territory long ago...
david
On Feb 7, 2010, at 5:15 PM, roger malina wrote:
> Luigi (girao)
>
> i have a slightly difference angle on your point about
> the 'end of simulation"
>
> i raised in an earlier post that the brain itself creates
> "emulations" ( that are of course a system of representation)
> of the world by creating perceptions based
> on sensory inputs
>
> stephane dumas pointed out ( see his email below) that this
> connects with Varela and his groups work on "enaction"
> with which I agree
>
> there has been a lot of advances both in the science of
> consciousness and in neurobiology in the 30 years since
> Varela developed his ideas= the work on mirror neurons
> and phantom limbs, comes to mind J P Changeux in his talks
> at the marseille talked of the brain as a projection creation system
> which
> interacts with the outer world via the senses, in cybernetic like
> cycles
> that allow the brain to settle on consistent or consensual realities
>
> it is interesting to think of simulations, made as artefacts by
> human beings
> both in art and science, as ways that the brain acts on the world to
> help
> develop these concensual/consistent/stable percepts
>
> yes maybe the end of simulation, or a total simulation, but a
> neurobiological take
> on your "life is art, art is life" motto
>
> roger
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: luis girao <luis.girao@gmail.com>
>
>
>
> Dear List,
>
> I, in advance, apologize to all of probably commenting on something
> that
> might not be of your interest or that was already subject to
> discussion in
> previous posts. But I am sure you will forgive me by understanding
> that I
> just recently (today) joining the discussion. Thank you for having me!
>
> Concerning Simulation: I am extremely interested on how and when one
> can no
> longer refer to it. Where is the threshold to be crossed to
> definitely blur
> and merge concepts such as real, imaginary, representation,
> simulation,...
> Even arguing in favor of *total simulation*, - in which the whole is a
> product of projective representations both at a collective and
> individual
> level-, even then, what can one do to collectively 'cross mirrors'?
>
> This approach originates from the point view of the need of becoming a
> socially active artistic participant, extending "Life is Art, Art
> is Life"
>
> here is stephane's point
>
> hi Roger
>
> Let me briefly catch up with these dense exchanges about
> representation,
> simulation and emulation, by reacting to what you wrote at the end
> of your
> last post : the brain would offer an example of emulation in the way
> it
> creates a model of the world from sensory inputs from outside and
> inside the
> body.
>
> As far as I know, this is the proccess that Varella and his collegues
> analyzed and named "enaction". They were very suspicious about the
> term
> "representation" as beeing based on the conception of reality as
> existing a
> priori, and of counscioussness as a process of mirroring this a
> priori
> reality. They developed their concept of enaction as refering to a
> coupling
> of the "brain" with the "reality" through sensory inputs, stressing
> the
> importance of awareness, not as a mirroring process, but as the
> creation of
> a "world" which is neither totally in the brain itself nor in an a
> priori
> reality, but which belongs to both.
>
> Of course, their researches would have to be analysed more in depth
> than
> what I just sketched, as well as the direct and undirect influences
> they had
> on recent conceptions of counscioussness, as, for instance,
> neuroconstructivism (see, among many other things, V. Ramachandran's
> research about the fantom limb syndrom). In my opinion, their
> concept of
> enactionstrongly questions the concept of representation and its sub
> categories of simulation and emulation.
>
> Best
>
> Stéphane Dumas
>
> http://www.stephanedumas.net
> to a point where it does no longer make sense to distinguish between
> them...
> _
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