I am a fan of Hume's philosophies, so I want everyone to try this out.
I want everyone to try to identify yourself.
I don't mean stand up and say your name. I mean catch hold of that which is you, rather than just the things that you do or experience. To do this, focus your attention on yourself. Try to locate in your own consciousness the "I" that is you, the person who is feeling hot or cold, thinking your thoughts, and hearing the sounds around you. I NOT asking you to locate your feelings, sensations and thoughts, but the person, the self, who is having them.
It should be easy. After all, what is more certain in this world than that you exist? Even if everything around is a dream or illusion, you must exist to have the dream, to do the hallucinating. So if you turn your mind inwards and try to become aware only of yourself, it should not take long to find it. Have a go.
Nothing wrong with getting excited about philosophy I'm sure you know some standard refutations of the argument against physicalism, but I guess the quick approach is to deny the physical aspects of phenomenological, experiential, or qualia differences. Of course, it also really depends on the type of philosophical zombie about which you are speaking. I assume it's one that is neurologically equivalent to us, but without a conscious experience. But therein lies my real objection - I don't think it's possible to have such a creature. Either you can say that the qualia do no follow physical standards, or you can say that they do and we just haven't yet discovered these laws. And now you can go into inverted spectra to refute me - I'll be ready
