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cussed. If our higherlevel thinking does require more than electro
chemical workings of our neurons, however, then it is reasonable to
wonder about the nature of that processing beyond the electrochem
ical realm. If more is involved, what might that include?
intelligence?
This question delves into the realms of both philosophy and sci
ence, and different people reach various conclusions. Although a
full discussion of this question could easily extend to a book by it
self, a few observations may suggest that the ability to think is sub
tle, and some common impressions about thought may break down
under close scrutiny.
Regarding the role of consciousness, perhaps you have had the
experience of working on a problem during one day, going to sleep,
and waking up the next morning knowing the answer or having an
important insight. During your initial work on the problem, you
considered various approaches, you worked through some possible
solutions, but none of these possibilities seemed to work quite right.
Then you wake up to become aware of a different idea, and the var
ious pieces fit together nicely. We certainly are not conscious of how
we got those ideas. Apparently our minds continue functioning on
some level as we sleep, but we are not aware of how the ideas arise.
At a less magical level, consider what you do when you write a
paper, compose a song, or create a poem. You may recognize that
the result of your energies is creative, but you may not be conscious
of the details that led to the conclusion. For example, how did you
decide on the words in a particular sentence, or how did you decide
to present one idea before another? In some cases, you may have
thought through various possibilities carefully and consciously
made specific choices. However, often you may find that the words
flow from your mind to paper; you cannot describe just what hap
pened to produce the details you see in front of you.
Turning to the topic of free will, Jack Copeland describes a most
interesting sequence of events in his book,
Artificial Intelligence: A
Philosophical Introduction
(Blackwell Publishers, 1993). The fol
