Thought today's smbc comic was too funny not to share. Source

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[–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

How did you determine that it's a discrete phenomenon? If I present you with another person, how do you determine if they're conscious or not?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    It's a discrete phenomenon because my consciousness is not your consciousness. I do not have two consciousnesses at once. Each consciousness is separate from any others - hence, discrete.

    As for how I know another person is conscious?

    Consciousness is a documented phenomenon that has existed since before I existed. My lived experience matches documented evidence of consciousness, thus I can conclude that, by and large, humans are conscious, although I cannot determine directly whether or not another person is conscious without depending on their testament. They could be a philosophical zombie - a thing that has all outward behaviors of a conscious being without having a consciousness, including lying about having a conscious experience - but the likelihood is low.

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