Author: Galo Cheung
Cheung, Galo, 2023 Conscious Machines: How a conscious machine may be possible, Flinders University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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In this thesis, I will present a theory of how consciousness is realized. SInce we are conscious of content, I propose a theory of mental content, i.e. how the relationship between a mental representation and its object is established. With these tools in hand, I shall discuss the relation between life and consciousness. My claim is simple, I argue that being alive is a necessary condition for mental content and, thereby, for consciouisness. Thus, to build a conscious machine we need to build a living machine first. In the meantime, the term "life" will be discussed. I hope this thesis can make a meaningful contribution to the study of the theory of mind.
Keywords: Conscious Machines, Life, representation, representationalism, living machine, Theories of content. desire, motivation, mind, consciousness
Subject: Philosophy thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2023
School: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Supervisor: Dr Tom Cochrane