Bit of a nitpick about an otherwise compelling piece, but both Rothman and the protagonist of "Elizabeth Costello" somewhat misrepresent Nagel's wonderful "What

Bit of a nitpick about an otherwise compelling piece, but both Rothman and the protagonist of "Elizabeth Costello" somewhat misrepresent Nagel's wonderful "What Is It Like To Be A Bat?" (http://organizations.utep.edu/portals/1475/nagel_bat.pdf http://organizations.utep.edu/portals/1475/nagel_bat.pdf), an article that is not intended to discourage sympathy with other creatures, but rather is intended as a criticism of certain forms of materialism. It's certainly worth a read itself -- particularly if you're of the reductionist bent that so many of us who read HN are, in which case it's likely to, at the very least, present an interesting intellectual challenge.