Definition
A thought experiment in the philosophy of mind arguing against physicalism, based on the conceivability of a ‘philosophical zombie’—a being physically identical to a human but lacking conscious experience.
Why It Matters
The “Zombie” argument is the ultimate gut-check for AI. If a being can act exactly like a human without “feeling” anything, then intelligence and consciousness are separate things. This realization forces us to ask: are we building “minds” or just very complex “calculators”?
Core Concepts
- Physicalism: The doctrine that everything is physical, including consciousness.
- Conceivability implies Possibility: If we can logically conceive of a zombie, it must be metaphysically possible.
- The Hard Problem of Consciousness: Why physical processing is accompanied by subjective experience.