Maybe using Leglimency would give a blank answer? Assuming consciousness is non-physical, magic might be able to detect its absence directly even if physical behavior is unchanged.
That’s true. If wizards have souls, and their minds are not caused by brains, absence of consciousness could be detectable. The sorting hat might think her head is a rock.
But then she wouldn’t quite be a Philosophical Zombie.
Now there’s a hypothesis: the difference between wizards and muggles is that wizards have minds while muggles merely have brains. Or wizards are not p-zombies and muggles are. I don’t think that’s where this story is going, but it might make an interesting premise for a different story.
That kind of fits, particularly from Quirrell’s point of view.
Seems more like the view of Lucius etc. We’ve seen very little of what Quirrel thinks about Muggles aside from his extreme distaste of nuclear weapons.
I used Quirrell instead of Lucius since I don’t think that Lucius actually perceives Muggles as a threat. But as far as perceiving them as a different species, it is more a Death-Eaters’ view.
If only.
I can’t wait to see Hermione resurrected as the first p-zombie.
How would we ever find out she was a Philosophical Zombie?
Read a chapter explicitly labeled as Hermione’s POV, and have the chapter be blank?
Maybe using Leglimency would give a blank answer? Assuming consciousness is non-physical, magic might be able to detect its absence directly even if physical behavior is unchanged.
That’s true. If wizards have souls, and their minds are not caused by brains, absence of consciousness could be detectable. The sorting hat might think her head is a rock.
But then she wouldn’t quite be a Philosophical Zombie.
Given your username, isn’t everyone else a Philosophical Zombie?
Now there’s a hypothesis: the difference between wizards and muggles is that wizards have minds while muggles merely have brains. Or wizards are not p-zombies and muggles are. I don’t think that’s where this story is going, but it might make an interesting premise for a different story.
So Muggles are like the inzcverf in Blindsight? That kind of fits, particularly from Quirrell’s point of view.
Seems more like the view of Lucius etc. We’ve seen very little of what Quirrel thinks about Muggles aside from his extreme distaste of nuclear weapons.
I used Quirrell instead of Lucius since I don’t think that Lucius actually perceives Muggles as a threat. But as far as perceiving them as a different species, it is more a Death-Eaters’ view.
Everyone is aware of Eliezer’s P-Zombie Apocalypse film script, right? http://lesswrong.com/lw/pn/zombies_the_movie/
That was awesome.