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Re: [APD] Disposing of Unwanted Fish



S. Hieber wrote:
> I think your approach tends towards the more anthropmorphic. Stimulus and response does not equate to sentience. Unless what you mean by response is "detecting pain" but that would be circular. Nor am I saying that only English folks can speak. I'm just not ready to ascribe sentience to everything that reacts to stumulus; that blade cuts too wide a swath for "sentience," "sensation," and "Pain" to be meaningful. Single-celled organisms rspond to stimuli but it would be a terribly watered-down notion of consciousness to suggest that they are responding because they feel pain, or hunger, etc.
> 
> Maybe, following something like Daniel Dennet's notion of "building" consciousness out of the dispositions of many very well and specially organized homunculi, you might be able to flesh out a workabl notion of consciousness -- but just saying it repsonds so its conscious, hell, that's awfully closes to ascribing mental states to rocks.

I have no argument with your problem of ascribing consciousness, 
sentience, or anything along those lines to all sort of single-celled 
and other "simple" creatures. What is the connection to pain? I can't 
think of a reasoned argument why consciousness or sentience would be 
necessary in order to experience physical pain.

-- 
Jerry Baker
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