The Basic Requirements of Mind

Mind - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here I go again with the reductionism.

So what do you think the minimum requirements are for an object to meet the definition of mind that we would recognize as a mind? Let me throw out a couple of ideas and see what you think. Feel free to add your own.

1. Self-Awareness. A mind must be aware of its own existence to, well, exist. Cogito ergo sum. Metacognition.
2. It must create memories of events. Note that I did not say "past" events. It must be able to recall these memories.
3. It must be able to make decisions based on data? I'm trying to define the difference between an action taken as a preprogrammed response and one that is made based on the evidence of a situation. Not sure how to define that. Is the word sapience?

That bloody wikipedia entry wasn't very helpful. Any neuroscientists out there?

And yes, the reason I want to know is because I want to create a Big Dumb Object that meets the qualifications without being organic in nature. I'll resort to fantasy if I have to. I have this idea about Writers of the Future...