There seem to be some edge cases.: for instance, would an alternative Mary know everything about heart attacks without having one herself? Well, she would know everything except what a heart attack feels like, and what it feels like is a quale.
It might be new information, it might be the same information presented in a different way. But the latter is still not something implied by physics...physics doesn’t suggest that different modes of presentation, or irreducibly subjective perspectives should exist.
The new information would be which nerves correspond to the heart (which is more than most need to know about heart attacks), and how they respond to that situation. I’m not positing irreducibility, I just haven’t seen research conclusively wrapping up how to measure pain objectively yet.
On the other hand, would someone who has a heart attack know as much as Mary about what’s going on?
Would Mary learn any new information over the course of a heart attack?
It might be new information, it might be the same information presented in a different way. But the latter is still not something implied by physics...physics doesn’t suggest that different modes of presentation, or irreducibly subjective perspectives should exist.
The new information would be which nerves correspond to the heart (which is more than most need to know about heart attacks), and how they respond to that situation. I’m not positing irreducibility, I just haven’t seen research conclusively wrapping up how to measure pain objectively yet.