Expanding a little on Chalmers' statement above, would it be theoretically possible for a "zombie" to exist that perfectly mimics EVERY overt or observable characteristic of human behavior except that the "zombie" doesn't have any kind of "awareness" or is not "conscious"? For example: the zombie might eat a piece of fried chicken in order to chemically generate the power necessary to perpetuate its existence, but the zombie wouldn't feel "hunger pangs" of an empty stomach when it needs to power itself. Would it be possible to create a fully functional replica of a human being only the replica didn't have awareness or experience? For Instance how would a replica know it is in need of more fuel and therefore know it needs to eat something if it didn't "feel" hunger pangs?"Why doesn't all this information-processing go on 'in the dark', free of any inner feel? Why is it that when electromagnetic waveforms impinge on a retina and are discriminated and categorized by a visual system, this discrimination and categorization is experienced as a sensation of vivid red?"
Or to come at the concept of consciousness from another direction, when I unplug a computer from an electric outlet, does the computer begin to feel "hunger pangs" as the electrons stop flowing through the cable? Would it be possible to create a computer that does feel "hunger pangs" when I unplug it? And how would someone go about creating such a computer?
And if it is not possible to create a computer that feels "hunger pangs", then what is so special about beings predominately made of carbon based molecules that such beings can be created through allegedly random natural processes to feel such things as "hunger pangs"?
Furthermore, what are the ethical implications of creating a computer that feels hunger pangs when a person unplugs it? Would it be morally wrong to subject such a computer to starvation by unplugging it if the computer is capable of feeling discomfort and suffering from lack of electricity?
And again, conversely, if it is perfectly moral for a person to unplug a computer that suffers hunger pangs when it is unplugged, does that mean it is perfectly moral to intentionally starve a human being by denying them food for whatever reason? Again, are carbon based conscious entities somehow uniquely special to other entities with consciousness?
Thank you for reading this and thank you if you decide to post some musings of your own on this topic.