Free will & the Conservation Laws

[robvalue]

Rhythm: of course, I have good reasons to think other people do experience things and no good reason to think rocks do. That's why I'm very happy to make those assumptions.

But no, I can't ever test if a rock is having an experience. Some sort of experience could emerge from any properties of physical matter, as far as I know, not just consciousness. I only have literally one concrete example, and that is me, even after dealing with solipsism.

I have good reason to think experiences only come out of consciousness, so I have no problem assuming that is the case, given that I can't investigate this further. As a scientist, I just take these assumptions for granted. But by my fundamental philosophy, which is of no practical use except as mental exercise, I can't rule out me being the only conscious being.

Of course, there are an infinite number of other things I can't rule out, it doesn't mean I take them seriously. That's exactly why falsifiability is so important, and why this doesn't matter or influence my decisions/scientific method in any way.

The mystery for me is the experience. I can accept, as a scientist, that "consciousness being the experience" is a very sensible and consistent explanation. All the evidence supports it, yet I'm trapped in one frame of reference. If I could somehow "be" someone else for a few minutes, or even "be" a rock, that would give be some data. Did I experience anything, or not, while I was them? Otherwise, all I can test for is consciousness and assume that is same as the experience. Which I'm perfectly happy to do, as I say.