Michael

If it's conceivable then consciousness can't be identical to behaviour/function/brain states, etc, because if it were identical to one of these things...

Then it wouldn't be a p-zombie.

I'm defining a p-zombie as something that doesn't have consciousness. That's not the same as claiming that so-and-so doesn't have consciousness. And b...

It's not miraculous. We agree on that proposition because we were taught to use the word "blue" to name the colour we see the sky to be. It would only...

No, the difference is that p-zombies don't have consciousness, and conscious people do. Whether or not I attribute consciousness to a particular perso...

The difference is the one described in the definition. P-zombies don't have consciousness. You seem to go from "I cannot distinguish between p-zombies...

I did an IQ test when I was around 16 and got 120-ish, and then did another when I was around 21 and got 100-ish. Clearly my intelligence started dete...

Ha. I thought that when I read his post only to scroll down and see that you'd said it.

Rawrren is asking about intentionality and you mention intention.

You're conflating intentionality and intention. But even then, intention is usually understood to be a particular kind of mental state. The robots on ...

So? The conclusions for these two arguments are different: All men are mortal Socrates is a man Therefore, Socrates is mortal All men are immortal Soc...

The semantics might be a little different but I believe his point is that the form is the same. It's the same reasoning process. In terms of the actua...

I went over to the Philosophy StackExchange to ask about this and the first answer states that it's just a syllogism, albeit disguised.

What causes A to always yield B in a predeterministic world? Is it because of D, E, or F, or for no reason at all? The issue I see is that when you ge...

So if I form the argument: All men are mortal Therefore, if Socrates is a man then Socrates is mortal Then this is tautologous because Socrates is a s...

I wouldn't consider that as playing tennis. But if you're really going to go this route then just read my mention of "tennis" as "two-player tennis".

Racket, balls, and the other person (and a net). It's a two- (or four-) player sport. Plenty of people do it for the pleasure. Seems like you're resor...

Again, it isn't wrong simply because it's done for pleasure. It's wrong because eating someone is wrong. It would be wrong even if it wasn't done for ...

I didn't say that, so the "I agree" here is inappropriate.

I don't understand how you distinguish using someone and not using someone. I don't use them to pleasure myself. I allow them to (of their own choice)...

It isn't abuse tout court.

When I play tennis with someone my enjoyment is the end and my opponent is the means. Playing tennis on your own isn't fun. It would have been a red h...

In terms of using another as a means to an end, how does having sex differ from, say, playing tennis?

Unless you're saying that having sex because it feels good is vile behaviour then this is a red herring. And if you are saying that having sex because...

Why is it wrong to do something because it feels good?

Obviously rape and child molestation are wrong. My statement was with reference to those who argue that chastity and/or monogamy are more virtuous tha...

You seem to have read me as saying that Heister's claim entails my claim. I didn't say that. It was simply an addition.

And it also has nothing to do with how good you are at keeping your penis away from this or that crevasse (or vice versa).

Electrical signals are being directed around silicon chips, mechanically influencing the pixels on the display. Presumably nothing's going on that can...

Your answer to #2 isn't an answer at all. Even if all events have causes, what makes it the case that A always causes B? At best you're saying that th...

I meant monetary value. Besides, this misses the point that unenlightened and I are making. The media can be responsible for our obsessions. The sale ...

Low supply and high demand. Something in low supply but also low demand isn't going to be worth much. It was the media campaign that put diamonds into...

I wonder what he'll say about the Quantum Cheshire Cat.

Case in point; giving a woman a diamond ring when proposing is a norm that developed in response to a marketing campaign by N. W. Ayer for De Beers. F...

You don't seem to be consistent. You said that A always causes B because of some unknown "something" but when I use this unknown "something" as the re...

Then why can't I say that in a random world A can cause either B or C because of something?

I'd go for Abstractionism. Seems the simplest to me. Although I admit I don't really understand Combinatorialism.

Perhaps, but then the same can be asked when the causation isn't random. What causes A to (always) cause B rather than C?

It's about the what can be known/derived.

I didn't say that anything is spontaneous.

I'd define the terms as such: A is spontaneous if it isn't caused by some B. A is random if it was caused by some B but was not a predetermined effect...

Ah, but you misunderstand. I'm a discreet sexual deviant. All bite and no bark. Some of us have class. Unlike that Hanoverian trailer trash.

I shall not partake in such vulgarity. Good day, sir!

And celibacy, too? I guess every sexual act is sexual deviancy, given that there isn't a sexual norm. But then isn't deviancy defined as contrasting w...

What counts as sexual deviancy? Anything but a quick missionary under the covers and with the lights out for the purpose of reproduction?

I think a better measure would be the percentage of users who overdose, because if a hundred times more people are taking prescription drugs than ille...

Alcohol, too?

Email them? E.g. David Chalmers' email address is given on his info page here. On the old forum someone got in touch with a few (Chalmers, Priest, and...

@"jamalrob", freerepublic.com is an example of great forum design. ;)

But that's like half of what we talk about in the office. It'd be quiet without it. Also, this is hilarious. Professionals are just those who get paid...