Does funcitonalism mean that the United States is conscious? explain your answer.

Functionalism argues that all mental states are reducible to types physical processes based on their logic (input/output) tables. For instance fear might mean [Input: something large and scary arives. Output: fight or flight response]. But if this is the case then large complex systems such as the United States could have processes within them that have the same logic tables as the processes in the human brain. This would mean that complex systems like the United States could end up having mental states and hence being conscious.

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Answered by Gareth P. Philosophy tutor

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