The philosophical zombie argument is a core modal argument in contemporary dualism against physicalism. Its central claim is that there could exist an entity that is physically and behaviorally identical to a human being yet entirely lacks subjective phenomenal consciousness—a "philosophical zombie." This entity is claimed to be logically conceivable, from which it is inferred that...
The rapid advancement of large language models (LLMs) has revived public debate over whether such systems could develop consciousness and pose existential risks—including loss of human control or even extinction-level scenarios—to humanity. This paper proposes the Three Criteria for LLM Consciousness (TCLC), an operational framework for assessing consciousness-like behavior in LLMs through...
The recreational abuse of addictive drugs poses considerable challenges to public health, leading to widespread neurotoxicity and neurological dysfunction. This review comprehensively examines the neurotoxic mechanisms, clinical manifestations, and treatment strategies associated with six commonly abused substances: methamphetamine, cocaine, synthetic cathinones, ketamine, nitrous oxide and...
Salvia divinorum is a natural occurring hallucinogen that is traditionally used by the Mazatec Indians of central Mexico. The diterpene salvinorin A was identified as an active component of S. divinorum over 20 years ago, but only recently has biochemical screening indicated that a molecular target of salvinorin A in vitro is the kappa-opioid receptor. We have examined whether salvinorin A, the...