Qualia
In philosophy of mind, qualia (; singular: quale ) are defined as instances of subjective experience. The term qualia derives from the Latin neuter plural form (qualia) of the Latin adjective quālis (Latin pronunciation: [ˈkʷaːlɪs]) meaning "of what sort" or "of what kind" in relation to a specific instance, such as "what it is like to taste a specific apple — this particular apple now".
Examples of qualia include the perceived sensation of pain of a headache, the taste of wine, and the redness of an evening sky. As qualitative characteristics of sensations, qualia stand in contrast to propositional attitudes, where the focus is on beliefs about experience rather than what it is directly like to be experiencing.
C.S. Peirce introduced the term quale in philosophy in 1866, and in 1929 C. I. Lewis was the first to use the term "qualia" in its generally agreed-upon modern sense. Frank Jackson later defined qualia as "...certain features of the bodily sensations especially, but also of certain perceptual experiences, which no amount of purely physical information includes". Philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett suggested that qualia was "an unfamiliar term for something that could not be more familiar to each of us: the ways things seem to us".
The nature and existence of qualia under various definitions remain controversial. Much of the debate over the importance of qualia hinges on the definition of the term, and various philosophers emphasize or deny the existence of certain features of qualia.
Women + Coffee
- 2026-02-19T00:00:00.000000Z
Dolphins
- 2025-09-25T00:00:00.000000Z
On and On
- 2025-09-05T00:00:00.000000Z
On and On
- 2025-09-05T00:00:00.000000Z
On and On
- 2025-09-05T00:00:00.000000Z
Colorful
- 2025-05-30T00:00:00.000000Z
Colorful
- 2025-05-30T00:00:00.000000Z
Heaven in Hell
- 2025-02-28T00:00:00.000000Z
Heaven in Hell
- 2025-02-28T00:00:00.000000Z
Blue Dream
- 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000000Z
Blue Dream
- 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000000Z
Palo Santo
- 2025-01-10T00:00:00.000000Z
Palo Santo
- 2025-01-10T00:00:00.000000Z
Palo Santo
- 2025-01-10T00:00:00.000000Z
Sandcastle
- 2024-12-06T00:00:00.000000Z
Sandcastle
- 2024-12-06T00:00:00.000000Z
Sandcastle
- 2024-12-06T00:00:00.000000Z
Piece of Mind
- 2024-08-16T00:00:00.000000Z
Piece of Mind
- 2024-08-16T00:00:00.000000Z
Road 415
- 2024-07-12T00:00:00.000000Z
Similar Artists