PHI 1103 Lecture Notes - Qualia, Outline Of Physical Science, Inverted Spectrum
16 Feb 2014
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P1: an organism has conscious mental state if and only if there is something it is like to be that organism. P2: conscious mental states are subjective: (1) they have a character or content; (2) determined by a single type of point of view; and (3) accessible to a simple type of point of view. P3: organisms can conceive, imagine or know the subjective character of mental states of their organism if only they are sufficiently similar in point of view to them. P4: physical science (physiology included) provides objective knowledge (ie. knowledge that is completely independent of any point of view) P5: bat sonar is sufficiently different from human perception that it contributes a dramatically distinct point of view. C1: we cannot know, conceive, or imagine what it is like to be a bat. What is it like to be a bat . We don"t know if someone really has a mind.
