01 / Consciousness
What is it
like to be
a bat?
It's interesting, the question Thomas Nagel poses: What is it like to be a bat? It has proved very significant in philosophy since 1974.
But I think it is interesting to ask the same question about another human being. What is it like to be Claire? What is it like to be Lawrence?
We can understand a great deal about people. We can listen to them, remember their history and try to imagine what they are feeling. But can we ever know what it is like to be them, in the same way that we cannot know what it is like to be a bat?
Perhaps that distance between minds is not only a problem. Perhaps it is also the beginning of humility, empathy and care.
More in the philosophy notes on consciousness ↗
Thomas Nagel, What Is It Like to Be a Bat? ↗
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