PHLB81H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Entomology, Thomas Nagel, Qualia
Document Summary
Nagel: to ha(cid:448)e a (cid:862)(cid:449)hat its like(cid:863) e(cid:454)perie(cid:374)(cid:272)e, no. Writes on metaphysics, ethics, philosophy of mind (cid:862)(cid:449)hat is it like to (cid:271)e a (cid:271)at? (cid:863) Mind-body problem: what is the relationship between the mind and body? (physical) reductionism: mind processes are physical processes. Brain processes are correlated with states of consciousness. Smart: so everything is explicable in terms of physical processes, except consciousness: do(cid:374)"t e(cid:448)e(cid:374) tr(cid:455) to e(cid:454)plai(cid:374) (cid:272)o(cid:374)s(cid:272)ious e(cid:454)perie(cid:374)(cid:272)e; or, do so really poorly. Maybe other lifeforms would have it, if they exist. The: subjective character of experience: the person with normal vision will appear to them in a certain way, whereas a person with pseudonormal experience will be different. Not: in terms of reductive analyses of the mental, or in the terms of the way people behave. If we can"t account for the subjective (cid:272)hara(cid:272)ter of e(cid:454)perie(cid:374)(cid:272)e, (cid:449)e"re (cid:373)issi(cid:374)g so(cid:373)ethi(cid:374)g important. Physicalist theories explain things in an objective way.
