Richard:The precise definition of "qualia", which everyone agrees on, and
which
you are flatly contradicting here, is that these things do not involve
anything that can be compared across individuals.
Actually, we don't do a bad job of comparing our emotions/sensations - not
remotely perfect, but not remotely as bad as the above philosophy would
suggest. We do share each other's pains and joys to a remarkable extent.
That's because our emotions are very much materially based and we share
basically the same bodies and nervous systems.
The hard problem of consciousness is primarily about *not*
qualia/emotions/sensations but *sentience* - not about what a red bus or a
warm hand stroking your face feel like to you, but about your capacity to
feel anything at all - about your capacity not for particular types of
emotions/sensations, but for emotion generally.
Sentience resides to a great extent in the nervous system, and whatever
proto-nervous system preceded it in evolution. When we solve how that works
we may solve the hard problem. Unless you believe that every thing including
inanimate objects, feels, then the capacity of sentience clearly evolved and
has an explanation.
(Bear in mind that AGI-ers' approaches to the problem of consciousness are
bound to be limited by their disembodied and anti-evolutionary prejudices).
-------------------------------------------
agi
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