4 ms·
One possibility I sometimes consider as a joke is that the people who seriously deny the existence of the hard problem might just actually be philosophical zomb
by wildmusings 9y ago
One possibility I sometimes consider as a joke is that the people who seriously deny the existence of the hard problem might just actually be philosophical zombies, totally lacking in any conscious experience of their own. This is reinforced by, e.g. Dennett writing a whole book in which he alleges to explain away the problem, but instead spectacularly ignores it altogether. It’s almost as if he doesn’t even have a clue as to what people like Chalmers are talking about.
- danaliv 9y agoI love that. Chalmers himself (or maybe Searle?) once suggested this very thing about Dennett. Made me laugh out loud when I read it. In all seriousness I wonder if Dennett hates consciousness (the “hard” kind) because it threatens his worldview. He seems like the sort of person who finds it impossible to say “I don’t know.”
- VerDeTerre 9y agoI’ve had the same thought, inspired by similar incredulity. I wonder if there’s a feeling that anything short of strict physicalism is just a flavor of dualism. Better a philosophical zombie than a philosophical ghost?
- montyf 9y agoPeople say and write all kinds of things. Just because this Dennet guy is known in whatever field he's in (I don't follow Western philosophy at all, it's still playing catch-up to Eastern thought from two millennia ago) doesn't mean his opinions should be taken seriously. I don't think he's a "philosophical zombie" or any other such inane term -- but people throughout the ages have believed all sorts of strange things even though the truth is sitting under our noses the whole time.
- vixen99 9y agoI do love these throwaways: "I don't follow Western philosophy at all, it's still playing catch-up to Eastern thought from two millennia ago". He doesn't follow it but knows it's 'playing catch-up'. Still - 'People say and write all kinds of things'. Totally agree.