Qualia

1. Introduction Let us say that a phenomenal quality or concept, as I will use the terms interchangeably, is “a feature of a conscious state that is notable introspectively, ostensively, as that aspect of the state, the way it feels, appears, etc.” (Loar, 81). The knowledge argument objects to physicalism through establishing conscious experiences as having non-physical properties. In “Epiphenomenal Qualia”, Frank Jackson proposes a thought experiment in which a brilliant neuroscientist named Mary is “forced to investigate the world from a black and white room via a black and white television monitor” (Jackson, 275). Specializing in the neurophysiology of vision, Mary has acquired all physical information regarding the physical and neurological…

We all know what hunger is and how it feels, but how do you know your experience of hungriness is the same as others? Most of us know what colors are and how they look, for example the color green, but how do you know if the green I see is the green that other people see? Everything above comes to the term— qualia, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the word qualia, means “A quality or property as perceived or experienced by a person. Qualia are often referred to as the phenomenal…

assumes the conclusion within its premises. The idea that all the physical information is given to her makes the a priori assumption that all the physical information that could ever be given will not suffice to her understanding the qualia of seeing red. Furthermore, when she steps outside the room and experiences seeing red she is having a physical experience where her senses are activated from perceiving the color. Therefore, she did not have the physical experience and consequently not all…

According to synesthesia researchers, this condition offers individuals an artistic advantage. They have a greater aesthetic sensitivity and are drawn to more artistic fields. They are able to expresses unrelated concepts better than those without synesthesia. For example a normal painter either paints some ting in front of them or something they imagine, while a synesthete paints what they actually visualize when experiencing a certain stimulus. Many famous celebrities involved with music and…

A philosophical zombie is functionally identical organism to a human being, yet they lack a conscious experience or qualia. The knowledge argument: Mary is a brilliant scientist who has extensive knowledge about physical theory and is a ‘perfect reasoner’. When Mary leaves the black and white room, and sees the ripe red tomato; she acquires new knowledge of experience. Mary experiences what it is like to see red. Despite knowing everything about color perception, Mary is not able to deduce the…

Perspective, the most powerful thing on earth. A statement of my own so therefore not entirely factual, but true none the less. The very definition of perception is, “The way you think about or understand someone or something (Unknown, 2016)”. Is this not the very thing that causes us to take sides in conflict or to act on something that doesn’t seem right? We are not born with the understanding that “White is Right” we are taught this from a very young age by our predecessors; our parents, our…

The purpose of this presentation is to explore the perception of color as related to photography. There are many studies on the way that race, gender, age, environment, and society can alter the way in which people perceive colors in our world. However, few have studied this concept related to photographs. Color is an illusion, a trick based entirely on the way in which light encounters and enters into one’s eyes. Therefore, color is not an actual “truth”, lighting is the “truth” behind color.…

One of the main points of the Knowledge Argument is that one can have all of the physical information without having all of the information there is to have. Frank Jackson believes that this applies to any of the senses, such as sight, “taste, hearing, the bodily sensations and generally speaking for the various mental states which are said to have (as it is variously put) raw feels, phenomenal features or qualia” (130). To support this argument he gave examples of a man named Fred who could see…

explain why our experiences relate to consciousness. Also, consciousness cannot be explained by physical processes. This leads him to accept panpsychism because he thinks that only the easy questions of consciousness are the ones that have been able to be answered. The easy questions to consciousness are the ones asking why brain states and conscious experience correlate. He believes that accepting a theory that seems ridiculous or crazy is the only option now, and the one he chose is…

In Thomas Nagel’s paper— “What Is It Like to Be a Bat”— the inconceivability of physicalism as “a position we cannot understand” is born out of a discussion of the mind-body problem, and in particular, a discussion of objective and subjective experiences. Rather than positioning physicalism as false, Nagel maintains that physicalism is that which is presently incomprehensible because of the “subjective character of experience”— the conscious experience— which not only clouds our understanding of…