Is nihilism the logical extreme of atheism?

[Neo-Scholastic]

Can you see how software emerges from the current flowing through the hardware?

Software does emerge naturally from hardware. People insert it. People structure the hardware and software to represent propositional states. Neither the software or the hardware have any meaning except for what has been assigned in advance.

The error here is trying to describe concepts is physical terms - like describing software in terms of hardware.

My point exactly. The relationship between a sign and the signified is assigned and arbitrary, not causal.

My question is this: at what point do you believe a sequence of events becomes a function?

Which function? Any function or specific to consciousness?

Any function.