Friday, September 03, 2010
♥ 12:14 PM
reason for my insomnia, to chiong this stupid thing -.-"
Title: Summary of Thomas Nagel’s article “what is it like to be a bat?”
Thomas Nagel argues against having a physical theory of mind by saying that experiences are not only objective but more importantly, subjective. Therefore without knowing the subjective character of experiences, we cannot know what is required of physicalism, having merely an objective account is insufficient to explain consciousness. He illustrates the differences in subjectivity and objectivity by asking what is it like to be a bat. Since bats perceive things by echolocation, we can never subjectively experience “being” a bat, since we lack this sense. We could know the science behind echolocation, and try to imagine it implemented on ourselves but our imagination is limited to how we can behave like a bat, compared to what is it like for a bat to be a bat, hence unable to share experiences as they are strictly subjective to the bat alone. His argument then is that we can study the science behind physical phenomena objectively, however that alone is insufficient to explain consciousness as it also involves subjectivity unique to the individual. It is therefore impossible to contemplate any physical theory of mind with the lingering problem of subjectivity and objectivity in the generation of consciousness.
