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The person in the Chinese Room could in principle simulate the brain of a Chinese speaker, but would still not know what it is like to understand the Chinese words he's processing.

This is addressed by the Turing Test: the point is that if there is no observable difference, does it matter? You can't tell if other people understand Chinese either.

Personally, the only logical conclusion I can draw is panpsychism. I think a rock rolling down hill experiences free will and perceives its random path as a series of choices.



That's not the only logical conclusion one can draw: Consciousness could be an emergent phenomenon requiring a certain amount of complexity that an individual rock lacks.




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