Consciousness under the spotlight: the problem of measuring subjective experience

Subjective experience—what it feels like to be conscious—poses a fundamental measurement problem for science. The article examines why first-person, qualitative aspects of consciousness resist objective, third-person quantification. It argues that current neuroscientific and psychological approaches, while valuable, cannot fully capture the intrinsic, private nature of conscious states. The author contends that this measurement gap is not merely a technical hurdle but a conceptual challenge that may require new methods or frameworks. The piece explores philosophical and empirical dimensions of this problem, suggesting that bridging subjective and objective accounts of consciousness remains an open and difficult question.

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Abstract

Consciousness under the spotlight: the problem of measuring subjective experience