Discussion: “What is it like to be a bat”

“The fact that an organism has conscious experience at all means that there is something it is like to be that organism.”
-Thomas Nagel

Consciousness, as the property that allows one to have any experience at all, is perhaps one of the most mysterious subjects philosophers have been discussing throughout time. What is consciousness exactly? How does it arise? How can we prove something is conscious or not? Some decades after the mind-body problem was first formulated, not only do we not seem to be anywhere near an agreement on how to address it, but we are facing new problems that make this initial question crucial to answer. If we do not know how consciousness arises, how can we be certain that something is not having an experience? Are we on the verge of building systems that experience consciousness without us noticing it in ways our brains are not designed to understand?

Join this discussion on “What is it like to be a bat”, an essay written by Thomas Nagel on the nature of consciousness. Please be sure to read the text before joining. Do not worry if not everything is clear; we will dissect the essay and try to understand its contents deeply. Feel free to take notes and bring your questions to share with everyone. We will aim to go as deep as time permits on the terminology, examples, and philosophy of the text. No one here is an expert, but we may as well aim to finish the session a bit less ignorant than when we arrived.

As usual, please come with an open mind, recognizing opinions may vary, and not everyone has to agree on everything. Let’s remain mindful and respectful, striving through humility and curiosity.

Note: This event has a fee in order to pay for the room, if the price is an obstacle, but you really want to join, please reach out, and we will figure things out.

Let's meet directly at the Venue in Tsunohazu Chiiki Center, Japanese-style room 1

PLEASE Change your RSVP if you can no longer attend.

You can find the essay online (here is one link to it:https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/activities/ieg/e-library/sources/nagel_bat.pdf )

Have fun reading, and see you soon!