# What Is It Like to Be a Bat? by Thomas Nagel

10 Hacker News commenters recommended What Is It Like to Be a Bat? by Thomas Nagel and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a short, clear introduction to qualia and consciousness, and as one of the most cited works of philosophy. Critics call it overrated and say its central phrase is ambiguous.

## Why people recommend it

- Clear, short introduction to qualia (3 comments): "is a good introduction to qualia, which is how we describe direct conscious experience" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48403440)) "A good starting point is Thomas Nagel’s “What is it like to be a bat?”." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48002915)) "if you're ever curious it's a pretty short read" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45939645))
- Clear, memorable argument (3 comments): "this was one that not only became immediately memorable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48488030)) "the argument is very clear and a real head-scratcher" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48482772)) "that's a great paper and well worth the read" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48483053))
- Widely cited, important philosophy work (2 comments): "one of the most cited and important works of philosophy ever written" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47720276)) "I think Nagel put it best in 1974" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45807507))

## What people warn about

- Central phrase is ambiguous or tautological (2 comments): "while I expected some deeper dive into Umwelts, I got (in my experience) a tautology around the word "be"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48483510)) "a phrase that imports the very ambiguity that Nagel is attempting to dispel" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46006969))
- Seen as overrated or harmful (2 comments): "many people think it's a terrible paper that has done a huge amount of damage" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48486499)) "I've never understood why its considered such a landmark." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48485201))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences by Eugene Wigner](https://hackerapproved.com/p/unreasonable-effectiveness-of-mathematics-in-the-natural-sciences.md): 6 recommend
- [The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus](https://hackerapproved.com/p/myth-of-sisyphus.md): 6 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "What Is It Like to Be a Bat? by Thomas Nagel", https://hackerapproved.com/p/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-bat/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).