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Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Is consciousness reducible to physical phenomena? Here we have a key argument from Frank Jackson and a number of responses over the years offered (finally) as open access. Jackson writes, "there is a possible world with organisms exactly like us in every physical respect (and remember that includes functional states, physical history, et al.) but which differ from us profoundly in that they have no conscious mental life at all." My own take is that this is not possible; a change in conscious mental life requires a physical change in the person. But how can I prove this? How can I show this? This collection wrestles with the issue, and makes for some enjoyable reading.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Feb 18, 2025 9:29 p.m.

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