PsychologyAugust 24, 2026
qualia
KWAH-lee-uh
Definition
Individual instances of subjective, conscious experience, such as the specific feeling of seeing a color or tasting a food.
Etymology
Derived from the Latin word 'qualia', the plural of 'quale', meaning 'of what sort' or 'what kind', which was adopted into philosophical discourse in the 19th century.
In the news
The article uses this term to define the raw, personal sensations that make up our inner lives, distinguishing them from simple objective brain activity.
Is Consciousness an Illusion or Something Else?
Read the full article ↗TheCollector