Better be a Zombie?
May 29, 2026 J. C. Hung
Early Buddhism, as presented in the Four Nikāyas, argues that phenomenal consciousness—the subjective, experiential aspect of awareness—has intrinsic disvalue rather than positive intrinsic value. The chapter contends that early Buddhist texts would even endorse the notion that it is preferable to exist as a philosophical zombie (a being physically and behaviorally indistinguishable from a human but lacking consciousness) rather than attaining nibbāna, the ultimate goal of liberation. This pessimistic perspective challenges contemporary philosophers who argue that phenomenal consciousness holds positive intrinsic value.