Illustrate the problem of other minds by discussing the difficulties associated with distinguishing a fully conscious person from a person who says and does all of the same things but is not conscious.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is The answer should indicate that the problem of other minds refers to the fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of others. To illustrate this problem, imagine a person that behaves just like you. She can talk about experiences, react to stimuli, and even wince in pain when stung by a bee. But the person is completely unconscious; she has no inner experience. This begs the question: How do you know that your roommate (or, for that matter, everyone else) is conscious? Because you have access to your own consciousness, you can make definitive statements about it. But because we do not have access to the consciousness of others, it is impossible to ever really know if they have consciousness or not. People make the assumption that other people experience consciousness in a similar way to themselves, and this assumption has served us well, but we never will know for sure.

Illustrate the Problem of Other Minds by Discussing the Difficulties