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Materialism and Qualia: The Explanatory Gap

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Philosophy Explanatory Gap

By Joseph Levine

Summary

Even if mental states = brain states is true, we cannot explain *why* or *how* this identity holds. The explanatory gap is the cognitive chasm between physical descriptions and phenomenal character.

Why It Matters

Gave the "explanatory gap" its name and conceptual articulation — distinct from but related to the Hard Problem.

Notes

This entry is a seed import from the Phase 1 Knowledge Inventory. It has not yet been manually reviewed.