Is qualia something that can be explained by science?
In other words, assume Alice is a scientist who knows every scientific fact about feet and the human olfactory system down to the quantum level (biology of feet, its evolutionary history, mechanical structure, the quantum mechanical effects as foot odor binds to receptors in the nose, etc etc).
Does she learn anything new when she takes a whiff of her own feet (ie what it subjectively feels like to smell her own feet)?
In other words, assume Alice is a scientist who knows every scientific fact about feet and the human olfactory system down to the quantum level (biology of feet, its evolutionary history, mechanical structure, the quantum mechanical effects as foot odor binds to receptors in the nose, etc etc).
Does she learn anything new when she takes a whiff of her own feet (ie what it subjectively feels like to smell her own feet)?
