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PyramidHead
September 15, 2006, 08:57 PM
For those on this board who believe that phenomenal qualities of experience, or qualia, exist apart from the physical makeup of the brain, I have a question.

Are humans the only entities that have qualia? If qualia are by nature undetectable through third-person investigation (i.e. science) what grounds are there for answering positively? On the other hand, since qualia are so often associated with conscious awareness, how do we determine which other entities are sufficiently consciously-aware to have qualia?

mirage
September 15, 2006, 09:14 PM
Since the only way we determine we have them is from our opinion, the simplest way might be to ask them.

"Do you have any qualia in there, little squirrel? Eh? Was that a little quale of puzzlement I just saw?"