  This paper proposes an approach to framing and answering fundamental
questions about consciousness. It argues that many of the more theoretical
debates about consciousness, such as debates about "when does it begin?", are
misplaced and meaningless, in part because "consciousness" as a word has many
valid and interesting definitions, and in part because consciousness qua mind
or intelligence (the main focus here)is a matter of degree or level, not a
binary variable. It proposes that new mathematical work related to functional
neural network designs -- designs so functional that they can be used in
engineering -- is essential to a functional understanding of intelligence as
such, and outlines some key mathematics as of 1999, citing earlier work for
more details. Quantum theory is relevant, but not in the simple ways proposed
in more popular philosophies.
