I want to add that, according to the standard scientific view, it ought to in theory be possible to catalog every component of experience down to whatever level

I want to add that, according to the standard scientific view, it ought to in theory be possible to catalog every component of experience down to whatever level necessary (neuron, molecule, electron... whatever). So, according to the mainstream view that Dennett holds, yes -- qualia (or rather, or illusion of qualia) can be cataloged and put into some framework of so-called "absolute elements". Philosophers on the other side of the table, who hold that qualia are non-illusory (and not mere epiphenomena), have varying and incomplete accounts. The best frameworks, by my own judgement, involve some sort of neutral monism. [1] [1] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/neutral-monism/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/neutral-monism/