Re:Electrons May Well Be Conscious
by disgruntledphd2 on Monday May 18, 2020 @12:20PM
(#23224446)
Yes, but we cannot measure pain "objectively" at all. The equivalent would be if we could build a CPU, but could only determine how fast it could process by asking it to rate its processing power on a scale of 0 to 10.
Nothing is stopping a more technologically capable civilization from directly measuring our pain. You’re describing a purely technical limitation.
We have plenty of ways of directly measuring people‘s brains and CPU’s energy use etc. The issue is speed and resolution which is hardly a philosophical limitation.
As to measurement, we can design and build modern CPU’s but can’t inspect them in full speed operation. Similarly, mechanics often need to take something apart to test it. Living organisms present a more complex challenge, but the similarities are obvious.