I can’t even understand him. I don’t know what he thinks sentience is. To him, it’s neither a particle nor a pattern (or a set of patterns, or a cluster in patternspace, etc.), and I can’t make sense of [things] that aren’t non-physical but aren’t any of the above. If he compared his views to an existing philosophy then perhaps I could research it, but IIRC he hasn’t done that.
Nobody knows what it is, finally, but physicists are able to use the phrase “dark matter” to communicate with each other—if only to theorise and express puzzlement.
Someone can use a term like “consciousness” or “qualia” or “sentience” to talk about something that is not fully understood.
There is no pain particle, but a particle/matter/energy could potentially be sentient and feel pain. All matter could be sentient, but how would we detect that? Perhaps the brain has found some way to measure it in something, and to induce it in that same thing, but how it becomes part of a useful mechanism for controlling behaviour would remain a puzzle. Most philosophers talk complete and utter garbage about sentience and consciousness in general, so I don’t waste my time studying their output, but I’ve heard Chalmers talk some sense on the issue.
I can’t even understand him. I don’t know what he thinks sentience is. To him, it’s neither a particle nor a pattern (or a set of patterns, or a cluster in patternspace, etc.), and I can’t make sense of [things] that aren’t non-physical but aren’t any of the above. If he compared his views to an existing philosophy then perhaps I could research it, but IIRC he hasn’t done that.
Do you understand what dark matter is?
Nobody knows what it is, finally, but physicists are able to use the phrase “dark matter” to communicate with each other—if only to theorise and express puzzlement.
Someone can use a term like “consciousness” or “qualia” or “sentience” to talk about something that is not fully understood.
There is no pain particle, but a particle/matter/energy could potentially be sentient and feel pain. All matter could be sentient, but how would we detect that? Perhaps the brain has found some way to measure it in something, and to induce it in that same thing, but how it becomes part of a useful mechanism for controlling behaviour would remain a puzzle. Most philosophers talk complete and utter garbage about sentience and consciousness in general, so I don’t waste my time studying their output, but I’ve heard Chalmers talk some sense on the issue.