@puzzledperson,
Quote:Whenever anyone says something like "consciousness is an illusion" or "everyone is a p-zombie" I know I'm dealing with a p-zombie. Sentient beings don't question the existence of sentience because they themselves experience it and directly apprehend it in a way that no argument or supposed evidence could disprove.
A p-zombie, by contrast, doesn't perceive the inherent absurdity of denying the very possibility of sentience, because it doesn't actually perceive anything, because it isn't sentient.
I agree. I think the argument an eliminative materialist makes is that sentience is an illusion or a trick of language. It's not the strongest argument in the world. The alternatives all have the same challenges, though:
1) Finding a place in the realm of physics for sentience,
2) Explaining the relationship between mind and body, and
3) Sorting out the problem of other minds.
Considering the magnitude of those challenges, the EM's simple view that there is nothing to explain is attractive.
Quote:Much of "history" and "current events" is also incompatible with sentience and tells me (along with certain other evidence) that I'm living in a fake world whose ostensible other residents are actually p-zombies.
I think it's true that we spend a fair amount of time on "auto-pilot," simply accepting norms and moving along well-worn ruts, saying what we're supposed to say, eating what we're supposed to eat, wearing what we're supposed to wear, etc. Maybe we're all part p-zombie.
