<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Despite the several decades of intense scrutiny, the problem of the “explanatory gap” remains one of the most widely debated topics in today’s philosophy of mind. This paper argues that, if re-iterated as the relative ineffability of phenomenal properties of sensory experiences (qualia), it can become an object of linguistic treatment to a sensible effect. The paper proceeds from discussing the general ineffability of sensory experiences to a brief overview of phenomenal mental states. The strong ineffability thesis is then relativized by positing that the mental contents in question can be communicated indirectly through phenomenal judgments, or “phenomemes”, i.e. discursive units that involve reference to the speaker’s qualia. In the concluding section, the paper suggests that phenomemes constitute a narrative dimension of their own and highlights the potential of further research on the subject for the pragmatics of communication, cognitive stylistics, and other areas of the language-related scholarship.</p></abstract>

Despite the several decades of intense scrutiny, the problem of the “explanatory gap” remains one of the most widely debated topics in today’s philosophy of mind. This paper argues that, if re-iterated as the relative ineffability of phenomenal properties of sensory experiences (qualia), it can become an object of linguistic treatment to a sensible effect. The paper proceeds from discussing the general ineffability of sensory experiences to a brief overview of phenomenal mental states. The strong ineffability thesis is then relativized by positing that the mental contents in question can be communicated indirectly through phenomenal judgments, or “phenomemes”, i.e. discursive units that involve reference to the speaker’s qualia. In the concluding section, the paper suggests that phenomemes constitute a narrative dimension of their own and highlights the potential of further research on the subject for the pragmatics of communication, cognitive stylistics, and other areas of the language-related scholarship.

Tell me what it feels like”: On the verbal interface of the phenomenal

Journal of Linguistics/Jazykovedný casopis

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Tell me what it feels like\u201d: On the verbal interface of the phenomenal"}

Despite the several decades of intense scrutiny, the problem of the “explanatory gap” remains one of the most widely debated topics in today’s philosophy of...

Tell me what it feels like”: On the verbal interface of the phenomenal

Published Online: Feb 27, 2022

Page range: 723 - 738

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jazcas-2022-0001

Keywords
phenomemes, phenomenology, phenomenal concepts, language and qualia, cognitive poetics, narrativity

© 2022 Sergei Kuzeev, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Tell me what it feels like”: On the verbal interface of the phenomenal

Published Online: Feb 27, 2022

Page range: 723 - 738

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jazcas-2022-0001

Keywordsphenomemes, phenomenology, phenomenal concepts, language and qualia, cognitive poetics, narrativity

© 2022 Sergei Kuzeev, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
phenomemes, phenomenology, phenomenal concepts, language and qualia, cognitive poetics, narrativity