phenomenaliteral

Phenomenaliteral is a neologism that blends the terms phenomenal and literal. It is used in informal philosophical and literary discussions to denote a stance or method that treats aspects of conscious experience as literal rather than metaphorical or derivative. The term does not have wide institutional adoption and is primarily encountered in online forums and independent writings from the early 2020s.

In philosophy of mind, phenomenaliteral can refer to a view that phenomenal content—the qualitative aspects of experience or qualia—counts as a primitive, directly present property of mental states. Proponents may argue that when a subject reports seeing a color, the report is describing a literal phenomenal property rather than a merely functional or brain-state correlate. Critics warn that the label can blur distinctions between subjective experience and descriptive vocabulary, risking overinterpretation of reports of consciousness.

In philosophy of language and aesthetics, phenomenaliteral can also describe an approach that seeks to interpret sensory data and perceptual reports in a direct, non-metaphorical way. Advocates emphasize capturing the immediacy of perception in semantic analysis or literary description, while skeptics caution against neglecting the role of interpretation, context, and abstraction in language.

Overall, phenomenaliteral remains an informal term with varying usages and limited consensus. It is often discussed in relation to phenomenology, qualia realism, and debates about literalism in semantics and representation.

See also: phenomenology; qualia; literalism; semantics; philosophy of mind.

References: online discussions and blog posts from the early 2020s mentioning the term.