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What is the name of the belief that everyone else is a philosophical zombie? I don't think it is quite solipsism, because solipsism denies that an outer world exists in the first place. I am talking about someone who believes that there is a real world out there, but all the other people and animals are just philosophical zombies.

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  • Quasi-solipsism? Or we could go the time-honored weak/strong route and call these stances weak and strong solipsism. – Kristian Berry Mar 27 '21 at 21:43
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    There is no name for it because it is not seriously considered, and it is not a convenient foil like solipsism either. But ways of ruling it out philosophically go under the problem of other minds. "Skepticism about other minds" would probably describe it recognizably. – Conifold Mar 27 '21 at 21:59
  • Some people, such as Dennett, deny that they or anyone perceive qualia. What if those people are right - not about other people, but about themselves? Maybe they specifically have a brain abnormality that makes them P-zombies. – causative Mar 28 '21 at 01:01
  • @causative, If you include your self with everyone else as a philosophical zombie, isn't that view eliminative materialism? – Ameet Sharma Mar 28 '21 at 01:27
  • @causative Dennett uses "qualia" in a sense different than those who relate them to philosophical zombies, so he does not deny that he or other people perceive qualia in that sense. On the other hand, he considers the philosophical zombie concept to be incoherent, so his declaring himself a philosophical zombie is just tongue in cheek. On his conception, there isn't a way to be right about it selectively, or have it caused by an abnormality. – Conifold Mar 28 '21 at 09:03
  • @Conifold yes but perhaps those arguments only make sense to Dennett because he has a brain abnormality that makes him lack qualia. – causative Mar 28 '21 at 15:25
  • What's a "philosophical zombie"? – the gods from engineering Apr 04 '21 at 21:52
  • I see that admits a more specific def https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/a/34027/13913 – the gods from engineering Apr 07 '21 at 18:44

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