> There is a good reason why most people consider consciousness arising from the laws of physics as we currently understand them to be totally untenable.
It is only "totally untenable" if you have a preconceived notion that humans are somehow special and not subject to the laws of physics. In other words, if you really want non-material souls to exist.
And yes, I do honestly believe that this endless field of rocks would "experience the world" if someone were to move them around in the right way. Although that is not entirely correct - whatever it is that is moving them in this way should also be considered a part of the overall system, and it is that system that would experience consciousness.
> and it is that system that would experience consciousness
This is not a common view, I'll just say that much. What happens if the man stops moving the rocks? Does the universe die? And if he starts again later? Is the universe conscious only in the instants where the rocks move or only when the man observes the outcome? My experience of consciousness doesn't seem compatible with something a bunch of rocks could feel if you moved them in the right way. And note importantly that this is something the rocks are doing on their own. The man could be moving them according to some set of rules which he doesn't understand, therefore the simple act of rocks moving creates life. I'm honestly astounded that you don't have anything in your experience of the world that you think wouldn't be felt by rocks that shift around in the right way.
> In other words, if you really want non-material souls to exist.
I don't want them to exist, I simply observe them existing. My experience of consciousness is not explained by any physical process. Physics can explain being which say they are conscious, but who hears me say it? A universe could be inhabited solely by chat bots, talking to eachother and claiming to be conscious, but there would be no one to observe that happening.
It is only "totally untenable" if you have a preconceived notion that humans are somehow special and not subject to the laws of physics. In other words, if you really want non-material souls to exist.
And yes, I do honestly believe that this endless field of rocks would "experience the world" if someone were to move them around in the right way. Although that is not entirely correct - whatever it is that is moving them in this way should also be considered a part of the overall system, and it is that system that would experience consciousness.