Two Kinds of Common Sense Knowledge (and a Constraint for Machine Consciousness Design)

In this paper, it will be argued that common sense knowledge has not a unitary structure. It is rather articulated at two different levels: a deep and a superficial level of common sense. The deep level is based on know-how procedures, on metaphorical frames built on imaginative bodily representations, and on a set of adaptive behaviors. Superficial level includes beliefs and judgments. They can be true or false and are culture dependent. Deep common sense is unavailable for any fast change, because it depends more on human biology than on cultural conventions. The deep level of common sense is characterized by a sensorimotor representational format, while the superficial level is largely made by propositional entities. This difference can be considered as a constraint for machine consciousness design, insofar this latter should be based on a reliable model of common sense knowledge.