On 8/7/2014 11:16 AM, Telmo Menezes wrote:
The trouble with such a theory is that it applies as well to those apoplectic with rage or sobbing in sorrow - maybe they're really happy, we just can't know. But in this case you can ask them.That doesn't help. Their response is a mere external 3p phenomenon. We can't know what is in their consciousness.I know that when I ask for help I mean it, so I can apply inductive reasoning to assume that somebody else asking for help also means it. With Alzheimers we don't even have that. So I wouldn't say it's the same situation unless you reject induction.
That's not exactly inductive, since it's based on a single sample, you, but I take your point. This is what we do in all instances of attributing conscious thoughts to other people. But it's not different with Alzheimers sufferers. First, you can ask them. They often (particularly in the early stages) can tell you they are confused and afraid, don't know who you are, don't know who they are, don't know where they are, feel they're losing their mind... Second, just as with other people, you can make inferences from their actions and body language - like telling when they're looking for a bathroom. But Kim's suggestion was that these merely external signs don't necessarily tell us anything about inner consciousness - essentially denying the validity of your induction.
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