Consciousness is a discrete phenomenon that exists, and not all things are conscious. A piece of paper, for example, is not conscious.
A string of text can be used to represent any type of data. It would mean that every piece of data is a consciousness, which - if we assume item 1 to be true - cannot be true, as a piece of paper (which is not conscious) can hold the data.
It’s a discrete phenomenon because my consciousness is not your consciousness. I do not have two consciousnesses at once. Each consciousness is separate from any others - hence, discrete.
As for how I know another person is conscious?
Consciousness is a documented phenomenon that has existed since before I existed. My lived experience matches documented evidence of consciousness, thus I can conclude that, by and large, humans are conscious, although I cannot determine directly whether or not another person is conscious without depending on their testament. They could be a philosophical zombie - a thing that has all outward behaviors of a conscious being without having a consciousness, including lying about having a conscious experience - but the likelihood is low.
How can you call it absurd when we have no idea what makes something conscious in the first place?
Because:
Consciousness is a discrete phenomenon that exists, and not all things are conscious. A piece of paper, for example, is not conscious.
A string of text can be used to represent any type of data. It would mean that every piece of data is a consciousness, which - if we assume item 1 to be true - cannot be true, as a piece of paper (which is not conscious) can hold the data.
How did you determine that it’s a discrete phenomenon? If I present you with another person, how do you determine if they’re conscious or not?
It’s a discrete phenomenon because my consciousness is not your consciousness. I do not have two consciousnesses at once. Each consciousness is separate from any others - hence, discrete.
As for how I know another person is conscious?
Consciousness is a documented phenomenon that has existed since before I existed. My lived experience matches documented evidence of consciousness, thus I can conclude that, by and large, humans are conscious, although I cannot determine directly whether or not another person is conscious without depending on their testament. They could be a philosophical zombie - a thing that has all outward behaviors of a conscious being without having a consciousness, including lying about having a conscious experience - but the likelihood is low.