<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>On Dec 7, 2009, at 5:07 PM, Dave Sill wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">But you can prove there's one [conscious being]? <br></span></blockquote><div><br></div>No of course I can't prove it, but one thing outranks even proof, direct experience. If I had a proof that you don't find it painful to put your hand in a fire I still think you'd pull it out at the first opportunity. Or you could say that I do have proof that I am conscious but unfortunately it is available only to me.</div><div><br></div><div> John K Clark<br><br></div><div><br></div><br></body></html>