Principles of Parsimony
Don’t introduce metaphysical entities beyond necessity (AKA Ockham's Razor) — the simplest explanation for a phenomenon, requiring the fewest assumptions, is usually the best one. If ideas are all you experience, there’s no need for an outside world, just thoughts and minds.
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Principles of Parsimony | Don’t introduce metaphysical entities beyond necessity (AKA Ockham's Razor) — the simplest explanation for a phenomenon, requiring the fewest assumptions, is usually the best one. If ideas are all you experience, there’s no need for an outside world, just thoughts and minds. |
| Subjectivity | Something dependent on a conscious individual's unique viewpoint, encompassing their personal perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and beliefs, rather than an independent external reality. The experience of "red" for one person cannot be fully known by another. |
| Consciousness | Awareness of our own existence or awareness of yourself as a distinct entity that can affect your environment; neither wholly determined by, nor completely responsible for, the character of your environment. |
| Eliminativism | There’s no consciousness at all. Everything’s just an illusion and passing. There’s no underlying subjectivity. |
| Epiphenomenalism | We do have consciousness, but it doesn’t do anything. We’re just watching a movie of our life passing us by, but we are conscious of it. |
| Strong AI | A machine or program that not only acts and communicates in a way that is indistinguishable from a human, but has an inner life as well. It has Qualia. |
| Weak AI | A machine that acts or communicates in a way indistinguishable from a human, but lacks any inner life (consciousness). |
| Turing Test | A human judge communicates with another human and an AI over text. If the human can’t tell which is human and which is AI, the AI passes the Turing Test. |
| Synths | Synthetic beings that look, feel, and think they are human. |
| Philosophical Zombies | Beings that act like humans in every way, but lack consciousness. |
| Chinese Room Argument | A person who does not understand Chinese is placed in a room with boxes of Chinese characters and a rulebook written in English. When a Chinese message is passed under the door, they use the rulebook to assemble symbols and pass back a coherent message. To an outside observer, it appears they understand Chinese — but they don’t. This challenges the idea that syntax (rules) equals understanding. |
| Qualia | Refers to the phenomenal nature of consciousness — “what it’s like” to experience something. The quale of cold is just what it is to feel cold when you’re experiencing it. Subjective or qualitative properties of experiences (e.g., what it feels like to see a red rose vs. a yellow rose). If weak AI is true, it doesn’t have this. Imagine what it’s like to be a rock — you can’t. |
| Intentionality | The power of minds and mental states to be about, to represent, or to stand for things. A rock has no intentionality because it does not intend or reflect on anything. |