[gtech1]

> I think Douglas Hofstadter satisfactorily answered this question.

He didn't prove anything. It's a theory, just like many others: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness-higher/

> Sure we can, it's just that most people don't like the answer.

Again, not proven

[ajam1507]

There are also plenty of people who think you can't prove whether the Christian God exists. I don't take those people seriously.

Don't mistake continued debate amongst "experts" as being a signal that something is unsettled.