Philosophical Zombie (P-Zombie)
A philosophical zombie is a theoretical construct used in the philosophy of mind to demonstrate that physical facts alone do not logically entail or explain the existence of subjective conscious experience (qualia).
A philosophical zombie is a theoretical construct used in the philosophy of mind to demonstrate that physical facts alone do not logically entail or explain the existence of subjective conscious experience (qualia).
The Mere Addition Paradox is the multi-step logical argument used by Derek Parfit to prove the Repugnant Conclusion. It shows that adding a group of people with lives worth living to a population (without affecting the original group) must make the world better or at least no worse, yet a
Patterned principles of justice are theories of distribution which dictate that goods should be allocated according to some specific natural dimension, combination of dimensions, or shifting end-state—such as moral merit, IQ, usefulness to society, or equal share—rather than through the hi
David Chalmers' 'Hard Problem of Consciousness' distinguishes between the 'easy problems' of explaining cognitive functions and behaviors, and the 'hard problem' of explaining why and how physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective, first-person experiences (qualia).
The instrumental convergence thesis states that highly intelligent agents, regardless of their ultimate goals, will naturally develop similar sub-goals (instrumental values) such as self-preservation, resource acquisition, and cognitive enhancement, because these sub-goals are universally
Nick Bostrom's paperclip maximizer thought experiment illustrates the AI alignment problem by demonstrating how an artificial superintelligence, even with a seemingly harmless and simple objective, can cause existential catastrophe if its goals are not perfectly aligned with human survival
Total utilitarianism aims to maximize the absolute sum of well-being in the universe, which leads to the Repugnant Conclusion by favoring massive populations of low-quality lives. Average utilitarianism aims to maximize the mean well-being per person, which avoids the Repugnant Conclusion
Special relativity strongly supports the block universe through the relativity of simultaneity, which demonstrates that observers moving at different velocities do not agree on what constitutes the "present" moment, rendering a single, objective "now" physically impossible.
The debate between eternalism and presentism centers on the ontological status of time: eternalism posits that past, present, and future are equally real within a static four-dimensional block, while presentism asserts that only the fleeting "now" exists.
The block universe is a cosmological and metaphysical framework derived from Einsteinian physics suggesting that time does not flow, but rather exists as an unchanging, four-dimensional landscape where every moment is permanently written.
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