Qualia refer to...

• A. The external stimuli only.
• B. The subjective 'what it is like' aspects of experience.
• C. The measurable neural correlates.
• D. The total content of all memories.

Answer: (B)

Qualia are the subjective aspects of experience—the private, qualitative feel of what it is like to have a sensation or perceptual state. Think of the vivid redness of a red apple, the sweetness of chocolate, or the pain of a headache; these felt qualities are what qualify the experience for the person having it. They are about the inner experience, not just the external trigger or the brain activity that accompanies it. External stimuli and neural processes can cause experiences, but qualia refer to the felt, first-person quality itself. Measuring brain activity describes correlates, not the felt experience, and memories concern past content rather than the present qualitative feel of a sensation.