Question
This question explores the complex issue of subjective consciousness and its relation to objective psychological reality. Each individual experiences consciousness in a unique, personal way, which raises challenges in understanding whether two people’s conscious experiences are truly comparable or share the same qualitative nature.
The inquiry touches on fields such as philosophy of mind, cognitive neuroscience, and psychology. It also raises questions about the limits of scientific measurement tools, like neuroimaging and behavioral assessments, in capturing and comparing subjective experiences across individuals.
I am interested in insights regarding both theoretical perspectives and any emerging scientific methods that might enable a more objective assessment or comparison of these subjective states
Answer
We can’t directly access another person’s subjective experience, but science compares them through self-reports, behavior, and brain activity. When people describe similar feelings under the same conditions and show consistent neural patterns (e.g., in pain or color perception), we infer a shared psychological reality. While the exact “what it feels like” (qualia) remains private and is the philosophical hard problem of consciousness, psychology and neuroscience make it scientifically testable by correlating subjective reports with objective measures.
