So I meant to respond to this inquiry earlier this week; however, I've been dealing with a nasty sinus infection, strong antibiotics, and all the fun side effects of it all. So my mind hasn't been so clear this week.
I've not viewed this thread since this quoted post, and I don't know what answers others have given yet. I'll go back and read them after I post my thoughts.
The first thing that I thought about when I saw this was the Star Trek (TOS) episode "Return to Tomorrow" S2:E20.
The five senses
- Smell
- Touch
- Taste
- Vision
- Hearing
Additional constraints
- No hunger
- No pain
- No feeling of heat or cold (though "cold" actually doesn't exist - it's merely an abstract concept in our minds or more accurately described as the absence of relative heat. Heat is measurable, while "cold" is not. We could invoke the laws of thermodynamics here and say that "cold" is what we feel when heat (or more accurately, energy) is transferred between objects of unequal temperature. So really we're feeling a transference.)
- I'll classify these constraints as to fall under the five senses, specifically Touch.
The sense of touch is regulated by the central nervous system on a relative scale. When we touch something (lightly), we feel it. When we touch something really hard (pushing a finger on a tack), that feeling becomes pain, but it's still the same thing. So I'll argue that hunger and pain as well as hot or cold fall under touch because we can "feel" all of those things in a physical way.
I think we should also add to this thought experiment an additional qualifier. That qualifier would be that the body and, more importantly, the brain of this person is fully developed, minus the constraints mentioned above.
1. Can the person think?
I believe that the answer is yes. However, it wouldn't think as we know it as a fully developed human. The person would likely have only primitive "thoughts" that are more instinctual. Survival being the chief one and reproduction being another. All of what we know in our advanced brains and "think" is mostly a learned behavior. Our parents, siblings, peers, and others in society contribute to what and how we "know" things.
If this person lacks all of the senses, there is no way to get information into the mind of the person. There is no way for the person to observe (through the five senses) and learn through its own experiences.
I believe the person would "think" more like an animal on the lower end of the intelligence scale. Just base and primal "thoughts" if you will.
2. Can this person have feelings? (emotional)
I'm going to say maybe. Some, if not all, emotions are also very base and primal at some levels. We can see animals experience a variety of emotions, anger when being abused, sorrow when one of their family members dies (elephants), love (dogs cats, primates), and so on.
Though this person would have a tough time feeling these things as we perceive them without being able to attach senses to them. Things like a photo of a loved one passed on. The feeling of touching their face, smelling their hair, or hearing their voice. I think it would be a stretch to say the person could experience love.
If anything, I'd venture a guess that the person might experience frustration and anxiety but not know what they are or why they have them.
I'm sure someone probably mentioned Helen Keller already, and she is perhaps one of the only known (or widely known) humans to be born without two of the most significant senses.
The other thought I had was those people who suffer from pseudocoma or locked-in syndrome. Although, they can think like anyone else, but are unable to communicate except by blinking in some cases.
This is an interesting topic of discussion.
