Methodology
Turns the lens on how the debate itself is framed: burdens of proof, appropriate definitions, explanatory standards, and what counts as a satisfactory explanation.
Supporting Arguments (7)
Church Turing Thesis
Most natural processes are computable, so it's likely consciousness is too.
Cognitive Science & AI Success Argument
Computational models have been very successful at reproducing cognition, so they will eventually reproduce phenomenal consciousness too.
Multiple Realisability Argument
Since different brains can have the same mental state (e.g., pain), what must matter is the functional pattern, not the physical material.
Natural Selection Argument
Evolution would not select for consciousness if it didn't have a useful function.
Anti-Mystery / Pro-Parsimony Debate
A scientific, functional explanation is simpler and thus preferable to one that invokes the mystery of qualia.
Ontic Structural Realism
If reality is fundamentally just a set of relationships, then consciousness is also defined by its relational (and thus functional) structure.
Informational Ontologies
If reality is fundamentally made of information, then consciousness is a form of (substrate independent) information processing.
Challenging Arguments (6)
Individuation Problem
Identifying which algorithm a system is running is an arbitrary, observer-dependent choice.
Simulation Equivalence Argument
Simulating a thing (like weather) is not the same as instantiating it physically.
Abstract Objects Problem / Intangibility of Thought
How can abstract objects be separate from their physical instantiation?
Explanatory Gap
Identifying neural correlates doesn't explain why or how physical processes give rise to subjective experience.
The Hard Problem
Why should any physical function (or anything else) be accompanied by experience at all?
Functional Definition Circularity
Defining mental states in terms of other mental states creates circular definitions that may undermine functionalism.