Also, one other thing: if the possibility of zombies is accepted by a majority, or even a substantial minority, of philosophers who study consciousness, it seems highly unlikely that this position is so insane as Eliezer suggests. So on a core level, the sane thing to do when you see the conclusion of the Eliezer’s argument, is to say “That can’t possibly be right” and start looking for a flaw.
Most people believe airplanes fly because air going over the top of the wing must “catch up” to the air going underneath the wing. This belief doesn’t seem to prevent them from being wrong, why would it prevent the majority of philosophers from being wrong on the subject of consciousness?
To put it another way, a long long time ago the vast majority of scientists believed that fire was caused by a physical material called phlogiston. Did this consensus make them right? Did the universe somehow change to use a chemical reaction with oxygen to produce fire later, when previously it had always released phlogiston to produce fire?
I hope you can see how the majority of philosophers can be wrong.
Also, one other thing: if the possibility of zombies is accepted by a majority, or even a substantial minority, of philosophers who study consciousness, it seems highly unlikely that this position is so insane as Eliezer suggests. So on a core level, the sane thing to do when you see the conclusion of the Eliezer’s argument, is to say “That can’t possibly be right” and start looking for a flaw.
Most people believe airplanes fly because air going over the top of the wing must “catch up” to the air going underneath the wing. This belief doesn’t seem to prevent them from being wrong, why would it prevent the majority of philosophers from being wrong on the subject of consciousness?
To put it another way, a long long time ago the vast majority of scientists believed that fire was caused by a physical material called phlogiston. Did this consensus make them right? Did the universe somehow change to use a chemical reaction with oxygen to produce fire later, when previously it had always released phlogiston to produce fire?
I hope you can see how the majority of philosophers can be wrong.