[collyw]

> Multiple consciousnesses could inhabit the same body (multiple personality, split brain, conjoined twins) and a single consciousness could be distributed across multiple bodies (I don't know of any examples but I can't think of any reason this should be impossible in principle).

When you go to a large event such as a concert, there is an "atmosphere". Do you think this could be considered a collective consciousness? You might dismiss it straight away, but this would be like a single neuron assuming that there isn't a higher level of consciousness built on top of it (assuming that the neuron is responsible for part of the consciousness).

[lisper]

No. The only reason I have to believe that any entity other than myself is conscious is by observing its I/O behavior and comparing it to my own behavior that is produced by my own consciousness. Crowds do not exhibit conscious behavior. I can't have a conversation with a crowd, only with the individuals in the crowd.

[gremlinsinc]

What if you're freddie mercury? I'm pretty sure he could converse with the crowd, he could speak to their "souls" and move them to do things like sing along, or stomp their feet.

[lisper]

Sure, but crowds actually don't behave like conscious entities. Getting a crowd to stomp its feet is not at all like having a conversation with a crowd. To have a conversation with something, that thing has to be able to somehow "talk back" and provide evidence that it has thoughts and ideas of its own. Crowds don't do that. To the contrary, crowds behave according to fairly simple dynamics, often the detriment of their constituents. There is no evidence at all of consciousness there.