Julian Jaynes' theory of the bicameral mind is quite a controversial, and admittedly strange, concept to grasp. But it is really so unbelievable?
amane higanbana
02/04/28
Is consciousness real? Well, of course it is, you'd say. I'm conscious - I have thoughts, emotions, and everything in between, therefore at least one person is conscious. But that's where it becomes interesting, philosophically. You can say you're conscious, and you can think you're conscious, but there is no actual method of proving that you are. "I think, therefore I am". But what if you don't think? Can you prove that you do? One who does not think will still believe themselves to be a conscious being, capable of thinking, and will insist that they are conscious.
This is where the concept of a philosophical zombie, or a p-zombie, comes in. No, they aren't really zombies, and they don't really pose a threat to humans - besides being an existential one at least. A p-zombie will go through their life exactly like a normal human being. Talking, laughing, reacting to pain, forming relationships, even debating philosophy - but with one crucial difference: there is no inner experience. No “what it’s like” to be them. No subjective awareness. From the outside, they are indistinguishable from a conscious person, yet on the inside there is… nothing.
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