My point is that it isn’t regarded in general as a a reducio. Indeed, it actually was originally constructed as an argument against physicalism. I see it as a reducio also or even more to the point as an indication of how much into a corner dualism has been pushed by science. The really scary thing is that some philosophers seem to think that P-zombies are a slam-dunk argument for dualism.
Nagel and Chalmers all seem to think it is a strong argument. Kirk used to think it was but since then has gone about Pi radians on that. My impression is that Block also sees it as a strong argument but I haven’t actually read anything by Block. That’s the impression I get from seeing Block mentioned in passing.
Yeah, that wording may be too strong, although the impression I get certainly is that Kirk was convinced it was a slam dunk for quite some time. Kirk’s book “Zombies and Consciousness” (which I’ve only read parts of) seems to describe him as having once considered to be pretty close to a slamdunk. But yeah, my wording was probably too strong.
It’s just really easy to take the explicit, “this guy takes it seriously” and make the implicit connection, “and this is totally not a silly idea at all.”
My point is that it isn’t regarded in general as a a reducio. Indeed, it actually was originally constructed as an argument against physicalism. I see it as a reducio also or even more to the point as an indication of how much into a corner dualism has been pushed by science. The really scary thing is that some philosophers seem to think that P-zombies are a slam-dunk argument for dualism.
Who?
Nagel and Chalmers all seem to think it is a strong argument. Kirk used to think it was but since then has gone about Pi radians on that. My impression is that Block also sees it as a strong argument but I haven’t actually read anything by Block. That’s the impression I get from seeing Block mentioned in passing.
Thinking it’s a strong argument is, of course, still a long way from thinking it’s a “slam dunk” (nobody that I’m aware of thinks that).
Yeah, that wording may be too strong, although the impression I get certainly is that Kirk was convinced it was a slam dunk for quite some time. Kirk’s book “Zombies and Consciousness” (which I’ve only read parts of) seems to describe him as having once considered to be pretty close to a slamdunk. But yeah, my wording was probably too strong.
Okay, I agree.
It’s just really easy to take the explicit, “this guy takes it seriously” and make the implicit connection, “and this is totally not a silly idea at all.”