I may actually have BEEN a philosophical zombie. I recently did a gastroscopy, wherein they put a giant fucking scope down your throat. I was told something very creepy: during the procedure, you can respond to commands and even verbalize answers. But when you wake up, you have a "black out" effect. Sure enough, when I woke up, I had a "dream" of something going in and out of my mouth about 4 times but really fast-- like over the course of about 2 seconds.
So "my" experience and "my brain's" experience may or may not be identical. It's quite spooky to think of, actually.
I think it's actually possible that some brain damaged people COULD function fully in this somnambulistic state, and not actually be awake and aware. It may be that people in a blackout state are offline and on autopilot, perhaps for extended periods of time.
So "my" experience and "my brain's" experience may or may not be identical. It's quite spooky to think of, actually.
I think it's actually possible that some brain damaged people COULD function fully in this somnambulistic state, and not actually be awake and aware. It may be that people in a blackout state are offline and on autopilot, perhaps for extended periods of time.