James Rogers writes:
> Perhaps I am being stubborn.
>
> I don't see sentience or consciousness as a requirement for experiencing
> qualia. In fact, I would state that qualia occur at the same primitive
> levels as emotion and intelligence.
I think usage of philosophical terms such as 'qualia' to explain (away) intelligence is a definite dead end. You can't explain consciousness at an abstract level without resorting to all the neuroscience, and the conscious 'I' is a much too high construct to be able to deal with all that amount of detail.