Lecture 4.2: What It Is Like to Be a Bat and the Nature of Subjectivity

Vocabulary flashcards covering the concepts of subjective consciousness, Thomas Nagel's bat argument, and John Locke's views on experience.

Thomas Nagel

The philosopher who wrote a famous article in the nineteen seventies asking the question, "What's it like to be a bat?"

Echolocation

The sensory method bats use to perceive and navigate their environment, which is functionally different from human visual perception.

"What it's like"

The standard phrase used in philosophy since Thomas Nagel's article to discuss and define phenomenally conscious states.

Subjective

In the context of consciousness, the idea that conscious states are only accessible from a single point of view and are essentially the perspective of the beholder.

Empiricism

The claim, discussed by John Locke, that knowledge of a thing is not possible until it is experienced, such as the smell of lavender or the taste of a pineapple.

John Locke

The philosopher who argued that sensory qualities like smells, sounds, and sights do not exist independently of the acts of smelling, hearing, or seeing.

Bat Qualia

The specific subjective internal experiences of a bat, which humans cannot fully imagine because our mental imagery is typically visual rather than based on echolocation.

Phenomenally Conscious States

States of consciousness that involve the internal, subjective experience of "what it's like" to be in that state from a particular point of view.