Consciousness does not exist
A scene from Westworld below. Hopkins, one of the creators of the robot ‘hosts,’ discusses consciousness with a host who newly discovers what he is.
A scene from Westworld below. Hopkins, one of the creators of the robot ‘hosts,’ discusses consciousness with a host who newly discovers what he is.
Of course the series’ explanation of consciousness is a lot more complex than the above might seem to indicate. The following video explains a lot of the season finale’s attempt to tie together the series themes, a major one being consciousness. It was one of the creator’s (Arnold’s) plan all along to have the hosts achieve consciousness, which Ford (Hopkins) eventually accepts and works further to induce. Ford built a host modeled on Arnold, the latter who figures out (5:25) that consciousness is not a pyramid like linear structure upward but one of folding inward. Hence the recurring symbol of… Read more »
It is a thought-provoking series. Consciousness is a big deal in Hollywood. Most treatments are rather shallow (to hit a wider audience), but I’m pleased to see the increase in attention.
Overall, I think it’s a well-written and executed show. Effective storytelling. Sci-fi is (apparently, based on what’s out there to read and watch) very hard to render in ways that don’t come across as half-baked or ridiculous. I did not pick up on some of the subtle details during the first half of the season that were important later.
See this post for some of my ruminations on what ‘folding in’ entails for consciousness.
http://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/topics/states-stages-the-wc-lattice-and-the-fold?commentId=5301756%3AComment%3A68407