This is a philosophical discussion because neither the deterministic mind nor the non-deterministic mind can be disproven for exactly the reason that you specif

This is a philosophical discussion because neither the deterministic mind nor the non-deterministic mind can be disproven for exactly the reason that you specify. Scientifically measuring consciousness could be a fool's errand: the very nature of it is subjective. That does not mean that we cannot discuss the likelihood of each explanation, keeping in mind that both explanations could be incorrect. We have Drake's Equation even though, for all we know, nobody has ever seen an extraterrestrial life-form. We have flight because nature demonstrated flight to us: nature continuously demonstrates the capability to evolve quantum machines (e.g. the nose and various other organic processes[1]). Finally, the engineering definition of determinism is not the only definition.[2] [1]: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160715-organisms-might-be-quantum-machines http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160715-organisms-might-be-q... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deterministic_system_(philosophy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deterministic_system_(philosop...