my "depressing" view of sentience
It doesn't exist. We rationalize mechanical reactions. Always. Anxiety is arousal, discomfort. Why arousal discomfort coming from the body? Pick a stressor. Freak out about it. You rationalize simple feelings. You rationalize automatic reactions.
But why is that depressing? Why not find it freeing? Zen? Perfectly calming? You can't control your moment to moment reactions but your rationalizer can increase and decrease the probability of reactions.
@Fuego I can not recall, maybe unsettling? I read it long ago and was already very depressed, not to mention I have some memory issues so... hard to say
I do know that it stuck with me forever though in terms of its reflections on sentience and intelligence