Book · 2024 · Philosophy
What Is It Like to Be a Bat?
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And I use Thomas Nagel description of consciousness from his essay called what it is like to be a bat which is a brain essay and I recommend from from the 70s.
The best things said about it
You know, there's the famous definition of Thomas Nagel, who wrote this great essay called What Is It Like to Be a Bat? And he his test for consciousness is if it is like anything to be a creature, that creature then is conscious.
Michael Pollan The Book Review · May 2026 So Nagel said in his famous paper what's it like to be a bat from the 70s, he said something's conscious if there's something that it's like to be it.
Philip Goff The Rich Roll Podcast · Mar 2023 Yeah, um, Tom Nagel's What Is It Like to Be a Bat? They're the kind of what I take to be the, uh, argument kind of.
Where and when it comes up
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Why people recommend it
Thomas Nagel's philosophical essay What Is It Like to Be a Bat? explores the fundamental nature of consciousness and the limitations of physicalist explanations. On The Rich Roll Podcast, a guest noted that they used Thomas Nagel's description of consciousness from his 1970s essay to define subjective experience. Michael Pollan also discussed the work across multiple appearances, including on The Book Review and The Ezra Klein Show, where he highlighted Nagel's famous definition of consciousness as existing when there is something that it is like to be a creature. Philip Goff similarly referenced Nagel's paper on The Rich Roll Podcast, reiterating that a entity is conscious if there is something it is like to be that entity. Additionally, Patrick House brought up Nagel's argument on EconTalk while exploring the complexities of human minds and consciousness. Across these various podcasts, speakers consistently returned to Nagel's enduring framework to ground discussions regarding the subjective nature of awareness and the challenges of defining what constitutes a conscious mind in biological organisms.
Every mention
Michael Pollan You know, there's the famous definition of Thomas Nagel, who wrote this great essay called What Is It Like… 2
“You know, there's the famous definition of Thomas Nagel, who wrote this great essay called What Is It Like to Be a Bat? And he his test for consciousness is if it is like anything to be a creature, that creature then is conscious.”
“There’s the famous definition of Thomas Nagel, who wrote this great essay called "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" And his test for consciousness is if it is like anything to be a creature, that creature then is conscious.”
Patrick House Yeah, um, Tom Nagel's What Is It Like to Be a Bat? They're the kind of what I take to be the, uh, argument… 1
“Yeah, um, Tom Nagel's What Is It Like to Be a Bat? They're the kind of what I take to be the, uh, argument kind of”
Philip Goff So Nagel said in his famous paper what's it like to be a bat from the 70s, he said something's conscious if… 1
“So Nagel said in his famous paper what's it like to be a bat from the 70s, he said something's conscious if there's something that it's like to be it”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker1
“and I use Thomas Nagel description of consciousness from his essay called what it is like to be a bat which is a brain essay and I recommend from from the 70s”
