Knowledge Tree
Conceivability argument
Also known as: conceivability arguments
Facts (11)
Sources
The Hard Problem of Consciousness | Springer Nature Link link.springer.com 4 facts
claimDavid Chalmers uses the 'conceivability argument,' a modal thought experiment, to support his thesis that consciousness is irreducible.
referenceDavid Chalmers's conceivability argument posits that it is impossible to distinguish "zombie" philosophers of mind from conscious individuals because their behavior is identical and it is impossible to know the internal state of a "zombie" who lacks phenomenal experience.
accountThe conceivability argument imagines a parallel universe that is an exact physical copy of our own but completely lacks phenomenal properties.
claimRussellian monism is not affected by the conceivability argument or the knowledge argument, and it supports a naturalist view on consciousness while integrating phenomenal and physical properties.
Dualism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Winter 2016 Edition) plato.stanford.edu Aug 19, 2003 2 facts
claimIf one rejects analytical accounts of mental predicates, such as behaviorism or functionalism, the conceivability argument suggests that the dependence of the mind on the body does not follow the standard models of dependence found in other scientific cases.
claimThe conceivability argument establishes a prima facie case that the mind possesses only a causal ontological dependence on the body.
Panpsychism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 18, 2017 2 facts
claimPhilip Goff (2009, 2017) proposed a conceivability argument against mental combination, which attempts to demonstrate the impossibility of subject-summing.
perspectivePanpsychists often motivate their view by rejecting physicalism, frequently using conceivability arguments to claim that physical facts about the body and brain cannot wholly account for the facts about consciousness.
Consciousness in Artificial Intelligence? A Framework for Classifying ... arxiv.org Nov 20, 2025 1 fact
referenceDavid Chalmers' Conceivability and Scrutability arguments are notable contributions to the reductionism versus emergentism debate regarding the nature of consciousness.
Non-physicalist Theories of Consciousness cambridge.org Dec 20, 2023 1 fact
claimThe knowledge argument, the conceivability argument, and the explanatory argument are the primary arguments against physicalism.
Hard problem of consciousness - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 1 fact
claimThomas Metzinger argues that David Chalmers' conceivability arguments are 'very, very weak' because they rely on an 'ill-defined folk psychological umbrella term' like consciousness, allowing for the creation of zombie thought experiments.