Posted: Mar 06, 2010 11:30 am
pl0bs wrote:Sorry that was byofrcs, not you.cateye wrote:Err, yes. Where exactly did I speak of unconsciousness?Yubsels, we just dont know. A different example would be some people in a vegetative state. We cant really tell if they are conscious either. This is all due to the fact that we cannot directly observe C in others, but can only infer it from behaviour. When such behaviour is lacking, we are no longer able to infer the presence C. The inability to infer presence of C is not the same as the ability to infer absence. Take a closed box: we cannot infer whether there is an object inside it (because its closed), but thats not to say that there is no object inside it.Does it mean a rock might be conscious, since we cannot observe it being unconscious?
Ah. Now we're getting somewhere. I agree, it is impossible to infer presence of consciousness. But I go one step further: I say that consciousness is an unneeded concept. See campermons question in the other thread, about the difference between "simulated" and "real" consciousness. I'm satisfied by explaining the behaviour of a person, and that can be done without the requirement of unphyiscal entities.