Blindsight
Blindsight is classified as a hard science-fictional work that was written by Peter Watts. One of the main themes in the novel is that of consciousness. Blindsight was written at a time when humanity was struggling whether to establish with certainty the existence of aliens. Generally, several satellites believed to be owned b aliens had been spotted within the earth’s orbit, raising concern on the role of aliens in the universe. The idea of consciousness and intelligence became common, and Peter Watts did not hesitate to come up with a book that would incorporate both ideas.
Peter Watts presents the nature of consciousness in a philosophical novel by creating an avenue for reflecting on self, other people, and post-human beings. Most of the characters in “Blindsight” are post-human and have been designed to portray a range of unconscious abilities (Watts, 2006). Generally, interacting at interpersonal levels creates a different perception from the perception created when the interaction becomes interspecies. Besides, the aliens are not human, and their conscious does not involve caring, as in the case of humanity. Watt generally portrays consciousness as a parasite and a mistake that affects the evolutionary process. According to Watt, consciousness should be separated from cognition so that the evolutionary process can continue to appear sensible. “Blindsight” presents processes that Watt believes should be considered in the definition of consciousness at the expense of developing the characters used in the story. The novel is based on the way consciousness is based on assumptions that are used to explain the way that the post-human beings are developed and the relationship between the post-humans and their creators. Moreover, intelligence comes up as a common aspect in “Blindsight” in the way the post-humans are created and technology introduced into them.
The idea of intelligence in “Blindsight” appears twisted. Humanity is based on coming up with intelligence that does not consider consciousness. For example, the characters appear to have been programmed to carry out specific tasks without recognizing themselves. The reader is left to wonder how the post-human intelligence works without paying attention to consciousness. Furthermore, Watts presents the nature of intelligence as an independent aspect of consciousness (Watts, 2006). For example, an intelligent-agent will provide solutions to complex issues without having to worry about the procedure followed before coming up with the solution. Such kind of intelligence appears twisted because one would expect that an intelligent-agent at least has an idea of the process followed before obtaining a solution. Generally, the nature of intelligence in “Blindsight” is presented as the ability to provide results regardless of the consciousness required. Generally, intelligence is about following a process, although the agent does not pay attention to the procedure followed. Therefore, intelligence and consciousness are independent, and only results are significant according to “Blindsight.”
In sum, the perception of consciousness and intelligence became common at the time when “Blindsight” was being written. Peter Watts did not hesitate to come up with a book that would incorporate both ideas. Most of the characters in “Blindsight” are post-human and have been designed to portray a range of unconscious abilities. Moreover, intelligence comes up as a common aspect in “Blindsight” in the way the post-humans are created and technology introduced into them. Generally, the intelligence and unconscious aspects are independent, and results form a large part of intelligence.
Reference
Watts, P. (2006). Blindsight. Macmillan.