Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [sentience]

28 questions
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What are the differences between sentience, consciousness and awareness?

Dictionary definitions such as this one often seem to use the terms sentience, awareness, and consciousness as if they are synonymous with each other. Is this really the case? If not, how do they differ? Some books suggest that sentience and…
coleopterist
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At what point can a being be said to have gained sentience?

It's pretty much universally accepted that healthy humans have sentience, but that's where the agreement stops. Many would say that complex animals have sentience, such as dogs, cats, cows, sheep, etc. But what about a mouse, an ant, or a…
Jez
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The implication if we discovered that natural abiogenesis is statistically nearly impossible

If we were to discover somehow that (sentient) life was so unlikely that it were almost impossible that it forms even once in the whole universe, does that imply anything about creation e.g.? My logic would be that in the event that there was no…
Doot
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Is there an essential distinction between experienced and observed consciousness?

The belief that there is somehow a fundamental, essential, or irreducible distinction between the so-called first-person and the third-person perspectives on consciousness seems to me a metaphysical dogma that prevents those who adhere to it from…
mudskipper
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Can a Philosophical Zombie realize that itself has no Qualia?

So, ok, it's by definition impossible for an outsider to spot a philosophical zombie, but could a philosophical zombie introspectively look inside itself and realize that it has no qualia?
Paulo Raposo
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If you know something has the potential to be sentient is it unethical to intentionally prevent it from gaining sentience?

In Star Trek TNG, TOS and Voyager they at some point debate what sentience is and what makes a person a person. Picard with Data/Moriarty, Janeway with The Doctor/holos, Kirk and Spock with the Horta and Sisko with the equality of people and the…
TheIcePhoenix
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How are the actions of conscious beings interpreted in terms of cause and effect?

When there's inanimate objects such as two billiard balls, we determine that ball C is the cause of Ball D's movement if C collides with D and shoves it. In addition, because ball C is an inanimate object, we consider that it cannot have moved…
user3776022
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What are the minimum necessary and sufficient conditions for something to be considered sentient?

The answer to Could a sentient machine suffer? suggests that The ability to suffer would not seem to be a necessary condition for sentience This made me wonder what the minimum necessary and sufficient conditions for something to be considered…
dorzey
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How satisfactory is the idea that software creates or leads to sentience?

Researchers including Synthetic Genomics have made incredible advances, but in doing so, have also made a powerful philosophical contribution to how we (as ordinary people) view life itself. We now live in a world where DNA has been written by man,…
AlanSE
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Could general-AI language generation be a test for sentience, sapience, or consciousness?

One of the oft-cited examples of how to test if Artificial Intelligence (AI) is intelligent (often expanded to sentient) is the Turing test. Simply, an AI or machine passes the Turing test if it can generate language or conversation that would not…
geoscience123
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Does the possession of mind imply sentience and vice versa?

Definitions I'm aware that there are differences in usage for 'sentience', 'consciousness', and 'awareness' as broadly covered (PhilSE) So: This question considers 'sentience' as the ability to have sensual perception. This question considers the…
Erdel von Mises
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Man's Relation to AI vs. God's Relation to Man

I have been a hacker and programmer since I was 14 and I have done advanced education and research in Artificial Intelligence. We all know that we do not yet have a computer entity that is "truly" intelligent since all have to conform to their…
GµårÐïåñ
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Can artificially intelligent machines ever become sentient?

To those posting opinionated comments or answers (i.e. not factual research), please first describe your perspective of sentience and artificially intelligent machines - this is not the same as their definitions. Because this question is broad,…
Jason
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What would Dawkins say about other minds?

If asked questions about other minds, how would/does he respond, and does/would he nest his response in physical science and reductionist/determinist models? Does he say that their existence is easily demonstrated? Doesn't need to be demonstrated?…
Jonathan Dunn
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The Leibniz - Turing Dilemma

The Turing Test is basically the idea that when (a) computer and a human can't be differentiated, that computer is an AI. Identity of Indiscernibles boils down to if A is indistinguishable from B then A = B Suppose now that AI is…
Hudjefa
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