Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Zombies are conceivable — Carmelics
    Home/Modality & Possibility
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Part of a larger discussion

    Challenges→Zombies are possible

    Zombies are conceivable

    Modality & Possibility
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.A coherent situation is described when zombies are described
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.No contradiction can be discerned in the description of zombies
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Conceivability requires more than the absence of detected contradiction; it requires positive coherent imaginability under ideal rational reflection.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Under ideal rational reflection, the identity of phenomenal states with functional-physical states becomes necessary, collapsing the apparent coherence of zombie descriptions.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.What appears conceivable to cognitively limited reasoners may reveal hidden contradictions upon sufficient a priori analysis, as Kripke's modal framework implies.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Dennett argues that when philosophers claim to conceive of zombies, they are actually conceiving of beings with subtly different functional organization, not true phenomenal absence.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Any genuine attempt to strip qualia while preserving all physical-functional properties collapses into an incoherent instruction, because phenomenal character just is a certain functional role.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.If 'zombie' descriptions smuggle in functional differences unnoticed, the appearance of conceivability is an artifact of imprecise stipulation rather than genuine modal coherence.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.

    Topics

    Modality & PossibilityConsciousness & Mind

    Connections

    2 linked claims · 1 topic

    Truth & Knowledge1 linked
    Blockhead is conceivableMultilocation is conceivable

    Related

    A coherent situation is described when zombies are describedAny genuine attempt to strip qualia while preserving all physical-functional pro...Blockhead is conceivableConceivability requires more than the absence of detected contradiction; it requ...
    +8 moreShow less
    Dennett argues that when philosophers claim to conceive of zombies, they are act...If 'zombie' descriptions smuggle in functional differences unnoticed, the appear...Multilocation is conceivableNo contradiction can be discerned in the description of zombies

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: zombies
    View source passageHide passage
    Those who exploited the zombie idea in the 1970s typically assumed without argument that zombies are not just conceivable but possible (e. g. Campbell 1970, Nagel 1970). When Chalmers reactivated the idea, he found the conceivability of zombies ‘obvious’, remarking that ‘it certainly seems that a coherent situation is described; I can discern no contradiction in the description’ (1996, p. 96). However, he also recognized that this intuition cannot be relied on. The nature of conscious experience
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Under ideal rational reflection, the identity of phenomenal states with function...
    What appears conceivable to cognitively limited reasoners may reveal hidden cont...
    Whatever is conceivable is possible
    Zombies are possible
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit