The Difference of Man & the Difference It Makes

Notes about consciousness as discussed by Mortimer J. Adler in his book "The Difference of Man & the Difference It Makes" 

I read this book backwards, starting with the last chapter and going back as needed to fill the gaps in my understanding of his arguments.

The bottom line is that the difference of man is conceptual consciousness.

The question is whether or not this is a difference in kind or a difference in degree.  He discusses the implications of various answers to this. Most of these ideas have been described in various science fiction stories going back to the story of the golem in Jewish folklore.

Adler distinguishes between perceptual consciousness and conceptual consciousness.  We share perceptual consciousness with animals but conceptual consciousness is what allows us to carry on the conversations that are expected of humans.  The ability to work with concepts and talk about it to others.  To ask questions and research for the answers.  To declare the truth of our thinking.

Adler expects that when the answer is discovered it will be found to be a difference in kind that cannot be duplicated by any computational machine.  Think Turing test and associated discussions.  

Notes about Darwin from Adler's book, chapter 5, "Why Darwin Answered the Question as He Did."

Viewing all life as a part of a continuous line of gradual evolution means that we can only differ in degree, not in kind from other living things.

Theoretical consistency influenced Darwin's answer, man's difference is in kind.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Notes:

He uses the words "intentional stance" in place of consciousness or soul.  The idea is credited to Daniel Dennett.  The survival value of this concept is that it speeds calculation of expected behavior of other beings.

Consistent with philosophers, e.g. M. J. Adler, Dawkins acknowledges the origin of consciousness as a (one of three) major unexplained gaps in evolution.  The other two major gaps are the start of life, and the origin of eukaryotic cells (our kind of cells with a nucleus and mitochondria).

He spends is book refuting the "personal" god that listens and intercedes by our prayers. (People that believe in an impersonal god are basically atheists.  Adler elaborates further on this idea.)

This book is easy reading if you have read others by him.  In my case I read "The Selfish Gene" about 6 years ago.