Re:Peter Norvig critically reviews AlphaCode's code quality
by skissane on Saturday December 17, 2022 @12:40AM
(#34025130)
Ask people: "is there a subjective experience of seeing a reddish patch, which is distinct from whatever physical processes might be going on in the eye and brain when one sees that reddish patch?" I think most people would say "yes". I don't think that's a "leading question". And, the "Mary the color scientist" thought experiment is just adding a bit more color (excuse the pun) to the question.
> In fact, a very important propaganda technique involves leveraging this by working to get a question incorporating a proposition you wish to get accepted as part of its premise into public debate so that, whatever position people take on the questions, your interests are advanced because merely getting the question into the debate leads people to accept its premises.
If there is "pro-qualia" propaganda in the public debate, I think there is at least as much "pro-materialism" propaganda as well.
The existence of qualia, and a change in it, is an assumption within the premise of the question, there is no answer to it that is not consistent with the existence of qualia: both “Mary does not gain new knowledge by direct experience of color” and “Mary does gain new knowledge by the direct experience of color” are consistent with, and depend on, qualia, to with, the direct experience of color.
It is not an unknown effect (nor one that tells anything about the existence of qualia) that framing a qestions with a concept in the premise is a good way to get people to accept the premise and focus on answering the question within it. In fact, a very important propaganda technique involves leveraging this by working to get a question incorporating a proposition you wish to get accepted as part of its premise into public debate so that, whatever position people take on the questions, your interests are advanced because merely getting the question into the debate leads people to accept its premises.