What it is like to be
The famous term introduced by Thomas Nagel. It is often used to characterize phenomenal consciousness or phenomenal properties.
- Some take "what it is like to be" to denote a property which some mental states have, whereas others don't.
- Some take it to refer to some parts/properties/features/elements/aspects of conscious experience of phenomenal consciousness.
One conclusion of Nagel's seminal article[1] is that neither science nor philosophy has the beginnings of a conception of the identity of what the term "what it is like to be" refers to, on the one hand, and a physical state, on the other.
References
- ↑ Nagel, Thomas. "What is it like to be a bat?." The philosophical review 83.4 (1974): 435-450.