qualia
noun

- a quality or property as perceived or experienced by a person

Oxford Languages, Merriam-Webster, Collins Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "qualia" comes from the Latin qualis, meaning “of what kind” or “of what sort” and is related to the English word “quality".

In modern philosophy, the use of quale (singular) or qualia (plural) became prominent in the 20th century, especially through the writings of C.I. Lewis in 1929, who used the term to describe the subjective, experiential qualities of conscious states—like the redness of red or the painfulness of pain.

The term’s first recorded use in English dates back to 1654, although it gained widespread attention much later in philosophical discourse.

The Latin qualis is related to an older root that means “to turn” or “to revolve,” connecting symbolically to the shifting and dynamic nature of qualitative experience—how things feel from the inside.

In essence, qualia are about the “what it’s like” aspect of perception: personal, immediate, and impossible to fully explain or measure.

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INSIDE YOUR HEAD

Your morning tea’s warmth isn’t just heat—it’s a feeling only you truly know. Qualia are the personal, subjective experiences of sensations, like the taste of that tea, the red of a sunset, or the pang of sadness. These are the raw “what it’s like” moments of consciousness, unique to each person. No one else can fully grasp how we experience them, no matter how well we describe it.

Philosophers and scientists wrestle with qualia because they’re so hard to pin down. A machine can measure the wavelength of red light, but it can’t feel the redness. Some argue qualia are just brain processes, like neurons firing in patterns. Others say they’re something more, a special quality of consciousness that science can’t yet explain. This debate, called the “hard problem” of consciousness, asks why and how physical processes in the brain create these vivid, personal experiences.

Qualia matter because they shape who we are. Our joy at hearing a favourite song or the ache of a memory defines our reality. They’re why art moves us and why we struggle to explain feelings to others. Understanding qualia could unlock the mystery of consciousness itself, but for now, they remain deeply personal.

So, that warm tea in your hand? It’s more than a drink—it’s your unique qualia, a fleeting, intimate piece of what makes you you.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

awareness, character of experience, conscious awareness (experience, properties, states), experiential properties, felt experience (qualities), first-person experience, hard problem of consciousness, immediate/inner experience, inner life (sensation, world), instances of consciousness, mental phenomena (properties), mind stuff, phenomenal character (consciousness, experience, properties), private experience (world), QUALIA, qualitative aspects (character, features, properties), raw feels, sensory experience (perception), sentience, something it is like, stream of consciousness, subjective aspect  (character, consciousness, experience, properties), the feel of things, the what-it-is-like, the whatness, what it feels like

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SMUGGLE
 OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“I wonder whether AI will ever truly have QUALIA,… and if so, if we’ll ever be able to prove it.”

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P L E A S E   S U P P O R T   O W A D

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