Trying to simplify my Consciousness hypothesis

[bennyboy]

Why would an organic system have an experience and an artificial system not have one? You say organic systems do have experiences. Tell me why a perfect computer simulation in a body would not.

I do not know whether computers, perfect or otherwise, are capable of experiencing qualia.

Well I don't believe that qualia exists. I think it's an utterly useless bullshit term. You're the one who claims that it does exist. I am trying to point out that you are making assumptions that you cannot support, that qualia exists for natural agents and cannot exist for artificial ones. You are assuming that there is something inherent about natural systems that allow them to experience qualia, even though you have no idea what the feature in natural systems would allow for this, you do not know what qualia is, how to define it, how to recognise it or what would make it appear in natural systems and not artificial ones. And the only reason you are in this position is because of your philosophy rather than any evidence.

You are putting too many words in my mouth. I don't have a shortage of them, so I don't think you should do that.

I am saying that you are falling into the same trap as the medical profession and industries who farm animals. Just because they cannot communicate that they are experiencing something that you doubt whether they actually are experiencing it.

Again, you are projecting onto me opinions I've neither expressed nor hold.

First tell us what qualia is, how to recognise it and give us reason to suspect that it exists.

Qualia is the subjective experience of what things are like: what it's like to drink hot chocolate, what it's like to see something red, and so on. In order to recognize your own, I recommend you open your eyes and look at something, assuming you yourself are not a philosophical zombie. As for "suspecting" that it exists, I can only comment for myself-- qualia is an accurate label for my experiences of what things are like-- it doesn't need to be proven, because the word is simply a label for that. I suspect that YOU also experience qualia, since you are likely human, and since I suspect that all humans experience qualia.

Or stop using the word qualia. Your whole position relies upon equivocation about qualia means.

Qualia has only ever meant one thing, so far as I know.