What Is It Like to Be a Bat?
What Is It Like to Be a Bat? by Thomas Nagelby Thomas Nagel
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 3 philosophy essays
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.
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.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clear, short introduction to qualia
“is a good introduction to qualia, which is how we describe direct conscious experience”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “No, Artificial Intelligence is not Conscious - Ted Chiang” “A good starting point is Thomas Nagel’s “What is it like to be a bat?”.”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “When Dawkins met Claude – Could this AI be conscious?” “if you're ever curious it's a pretty short read”
Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “AGI fantasy is a blocker to actual engineering” Clear, memorable argument
“this was one that not only became immediately memorable”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [pdf]” “the argument is very clear and a real head-scratcher”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [pdf]” “that's a great paper and well worth the read”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [pdf]” Widely cited, important philosophy work
“one of the most cited and important works of philosophy ever written”
Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “What is it like to be a human being?” “I think Nagel put it best in 1974”
Comment from 4 Nov 2025 in “The Case That A.I. Is Thinking”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Central phrase is ambiguous or tautological
“while I expected some deeper dive into Umwelts, I got (in my experience) a tautology around the word "be"”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [pdf]” “a phrase that imports the very ambiguity that Nagel is attempting to dispel”
Comment from 21 Nov 2025 in “The New AI Consciousness Paper” Seen as overrated or harmful
“many people think it's a terrible paper that has done a huge amount of damage”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [pdf]” “I've never understood why its considered such a landmark.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [pdf]”
Other philosophy essays people recommend
The two most recommended other philosophy essays, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What Is It Like to Be a Bat?by Thomas NagelThis page | 10 | 4 | 71% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciencesby Eugene Wigner | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| The Myth of Sisyphusby Albert Camus | 6 | 1 | 86% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“is an interesting idea but you don't need hundreds of pages to explain it”
“One of my favorite bits from this is actually a footnote”
“this was one that not only became immediately memorable”
“many people think it's a terrible paper that has done a huge amount of damage”
“I've never understood why its considered such a landmark.”
“while I expected some deeper dive into Umwelts, I got (in my experience) a tautology around the word "be"”
“that's a great paper and well worth the read”
“the argument is very clear and a real head-scratcher”
“is a good introduction to qualia, which is how we describe direct conscious experience”
“A good starting point is Thomas Nagel’s “What is it like to be a bat?”.”
“one of the most cited and important works of philosophy ever written”
“a phrase that imports the very ambiguity that Nagel is attempting to dispel”
“if you're ever curious it's a pretty short read”
“I think Nagel put it best in 1974”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.