Comment on Three consistent positions for computationalists

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:23:18 GMT

Pjeby, the specifics of dissolving each dissolvable question are different.The word "sound" may have two definitions, once we tell them apart the question of falling trees producing sound gets dissolved. The word "free will" has a fuzzy definition, once we define it precisely, the question gets dissolved. The word "qualia" on the other hand is about categories of subjective experience which we cannot define or communicate adequately, and we aren't sure if they're even communicable, because they're too much tied in with the concept of subjective experience, anticipation, and these in turn seem tied in with other unsolved questions like existence, causality and the fundamental relationship between mathematics and physics.

So, yes, perhaps the issue of qualia will one day be dissolved, but we've not managed to do so yet. If you can tell us the exact way to dissolve it, please oblige us. "Read and understand the sequences" is obviously not sufficient for us, so either you're a few levels above us on this matter (by being able to dissolve this confusion), or we're a few levels above you (in actually noticing ours).

Either way, telling us "just understand the sequences" isn't sufficient or helpful, for us atleast.

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