01.c — Intelligent + Human + Being

In which we identify three realms of our Existence

In the previous post, we established our Working Premise: We are all equally intelligent. We are not holding this statement as a statement of fact; we are holding this statement as a point of reference, and we will be a bit fierce about it because doing so will preclude us from entering, or falling, into the trap of comparisons.

At the Café Chapultepec. (part 3)

Bruno: “Yes, it works. ‘Intelligent Human Being’ works because it gives me a label that I can use to consider all of us as equally intelligent. We are all intelligent human beings, with ‘intelligent’ underscored.”
Azucena: “And labels are important.”
Montserrat: “Say more..”
Azucena: “Labels are important because they are useful, they allow us to speak about things. We use labels to represent all sorts of things. In the case of Bruno’s explorations, the label ‘intelligent human being’ allows us to speak of human beings as being intelligent, and in regards to his working premise, it allows us to speak of human beings as being equally intelligent. But we have to be careful with labels because too many ideas can be collapsed under a single label.”
“But it seems to me that the phrase ‘Intelligent Human Being’ is also important from another perspective” stated Bruno. “It seems to me that ‘Intelligent Human Being’ is pointing to something perhaps even more powerful, at least in the context of my Inquiry. Let me explain” he said as he settled back in his chair and had another sip of his delicious espresso.
“It seems to me that the three words: ‘Intelligent’ — ‘Human’ — ‘Being’, give us three dimensions or realms inside of which to consider ourselves as intelligent. “And by ‘realm’ you mean what, Bruno?” asked Adelita.
Bruno: “I use the word Realm to refer to a sort of framework from within which I can consider something. ‘Realm’ has other connotations, but that is the way I am using the word at this moment. Because if I think of myself as an intelligent human being, I can then consider my own intelligence from within the realm of ‘being’, or from within the realm of being a ‘human’, or from within the realm of being ‘intelligent’.”
Adelita: “Ok, I get it, and it makes sense. So if I am understanding correctly, you are seeing the possibility of using ‘intelligent human being’ not only as a label that would allow us to speak about people as being intelligent, but also as a sort of framework for considering various aspects of us intelligent human beings? Am I on the right track?”
Bruno: “Yes, I believe you are, Ade. But I should say that some of these ideas are taking shape as we are speaking at this moment. This conversation is very rich and it is allowing for new perspectives to emerge.”
Azucena interjected: “Yes, when Bruno speaks of ‘being’ as a realm, what immediately comes to mind is the ontological aspect of our existence.” “Onto what? What the heck is that?”, exclaimed Aureliano, who up to this point had been following the conversation like a spectator on the third floor of the theater.
Antonietta jumped in: “Ok Aureliano, your dollar!!”. “Yes, I know”, he said. Antonietta then added: “Who else?” Manolito, Adalberto and Fausto raised their hands, as they each were pulling a dollar out of their pockets. “Wow, Zuz, you got four this time!!” finished Antonietta. The game is that every time someone uses a word that someone else does not know, the person learning the word pays a dollar which goes towards the coffee bill; many dollars have been paid over the years. Back to Azucena.
Azucena: “Ontology is the philosophical study of ‘Being’. Ontology considers some of the existential aspects of things that are. We, as intelligent human beings, are intelligent, are humans, and are ‘beings’. It gets very tricky because our human languages generally do not have adequate words to expresses these ideas. In the case of Bruno’s inquiry, there is an ontology of intelligence, which is what Bruno has been trying to describe; there is an ontology of being human, which many areas of study consider; and then there is an ontology of being a ‘being’, which is what Martin Heideger studied and wrote extensible about.”
Aureliano had a sort of glazed look in his eyes, sort of like when you drink a little too much tequila, or if you have just listened to some eloquent explanation from Azucena. Either way, Aureliano puffed: “Mmmm.. Zuz, I think that whole stream of thought just cruised at about 33 thousand feet above my head.” With a big laugh, Adalberto also puffed: “Ditto.” Aureliano: “Why don’t I just pay for a round of espressos for everybody?”, which brought about an abundance of laughter, and delicious espressos for everyone.
Bruno took the floor again and said: “Yes, Azucena is correct, and to summarize her eloquent exposition, suffice it to say that we are interested, well, I am interested, in the ‘being intelligent’ about being an intelligent human being.”
Adelita interjected again: “Makes sense, I think. But then there is this issue. Yes, we are intelligent human beings and all, but for example, our intelligence exists somewhere, right? In a way, it resides somewhere, somehow, in our brains. What I mean is, whatever it is that one might say about human intelligence, in one way or another that intelligence has to function inside some area, or areas, of our physical bodies. So the ‘human’ aspect, or realm to use Bruno’s word, so the ‘human’ realm would need to consider some of the physical aspects of being intelligent. I suppose that we would have to talk about the computational aspects of our intelligence. Because surely, we all have pretty much the same brains. Even Fausto would have to agree with that!!”
Bruno: “You are hitting the nail on the head Ade. ‘Intelligence’, somehow, needs to be implemented, to use a computational term, intelligence needs to be somehow implemented in the brain. And therefore, intelligent human beings must have some things in common in terms of how their brains operate and how their intelligence functions.”
Antonietta interrupted: “Oh, without a doubt. After all, the entire field of artificial intelligence is based on that premise: we are attempting to emulate human intelligence using all sorts of computing devices. Whether we can ever succeed at emulating intelligent human beings is still a raging debate, but the computational nature of intelligence is a question that has been settled for some time now.”
Bruno: “And while I am all for AI, there is no question in my mind that as an intelligent human being, my intelligence is in a whole other category than what AI could ever aspire to be. Still, the question in my mind prevails: What differentiates me, as an intelligent human being, from say, a super duper mega AI computer? In other words, how, as an intelligent human being, am I fundamentally different from a computer?”
Fausto, raising his hand a little, said: “Oh, so are we talking about computers? Are we comparing ourselves with computers?” Bruno immediately responded: “Absolutely not. No, no, no, no.” Montserrat seconded: “Oh no. Not at all.”
Montserrat continued: “In fact, I don’t think we are comparing ourselves with anything, or anyone for that matter. Bruno’s inquiry is an exploration that he is doing about himself. I, myself, am only interested in knowing ‘Me’, me as an intelligent human being. I have absolutely no interest at all in comparisons, with anyone, or with anything. That is why Bruno’s working premise works so well for me: we are all equally intelligent. There is no comparison implied in that statement. There is no comparison allowed by that statement.” “That’s right”, said Bruno.
Montserrat continued: “But I think there is a heck of a lot of stuff I can learn about myself, by considering myself from as many different perspectives as I can handle. After all, human beings have been studying human beings longer, and more deeply, than we have studied anything else. And guess what, nowadays, it is all just a few keystrokes away. We literally have access to just about anything and everything that has ever been thought, and that has ever been written, about humans, in the entire history of humanity. Really, it’s a buffet of knowledge as big, and as rich, as any of us can handle.”
Bruno added: “Very well said Montse. And the best part of the inquiry process for me are the Questions. I love questions more than I love any other form of thought.” “Amen!”, Azucena whispered to herself.