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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Ned Block's own conceivability arguments for inverted spectra presuppose that qualia have intrinsic properties, but intrinsic properties of mental states are best explained by their causal-functional roles per Shoemaker's functionalist account.

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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Conceivability does not entail metaphysical possibility; inverted spectra may be conceivable but impossible given our actual neurocognitive architecture.
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    • 2.Shoemaker's functionalism can accommodate intrinsic properties as constitutive of functional roles rather than separate from them, avoiding the dichotomy.
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    • 3.Block's argument assumes qualia have determinate intrinsic properties independent of all causal-relational context, a claim requiring further philosophical defense.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.If qualia were merely functional roles, inverted spectra would be logically impossible since identical functional roles guarantee identical experiences.
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    • 2.Block's conceivability argument successfully shows we can coherently imagine spectrum inversion, demonstrating qualia transcend functional definition.
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    • 3.Functionalism struggles to explain why specific qualia feel the way they do rather than differently, suggesting intrinsic, non-functional properties exist.
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