Greg Detre
24 September, 2001
Hoftstadter is trying to show that mind arises out of the tangled hierarchy of brain. Mind is a complex system, with all the different �active symbols� (frames + actors) conglomerating into sub-systems, and finally into the self-symbol. The various levels are quite sealed off from each other, especially hardware (the actual neurons) and software (their particular arrangement???) � the collections of neurons (or ants) know nothing about the lower level(s) (that they�re instantiated in � neurons, ants, molecules�). I think Hofstadter believes consciousness can be explained in terms of resonance between levels, though we may well not be able to fully, i.e. intuitively, comprehend that explanation.