Comment by Xenosage on Modularity and Buzzy · 2011-08-16T15:15:18.996Z · LW · GW

If problematic, it points to a problem with the theory, rather than the formulation. Presuming wildly that your mental experience is similar to mine, then there is a very distinct notion of being conscious of some activities (performed by modules) and not others. I am, for example, quite conscious of writing this letter, but nearly oblivious to the beating of my heart. There is distinctly "one" that is "conscious" of this activity. Letting that go temporarily in order to better investigate some cognitive theory may be productive, but eventually you have to come back to it. Trying to explain it away via theory is like trying to find a theory of gravity that states dropped apples don't really hit the ground. It may be wonderfully constructed, but doesn't describe the world we exist in.