Full Idea
The expression 'explanatory gap' was coined by Joseph Levine in 1983. McGinn and Chalmers have invoked it in defence of the view that consciousness is physically inexplicable, and Nagel that it is inexplicable given existing conceptual resources.
Gist of Idea
The 'explanatory gap' is used to say consciousness is inexplicable, at least with current concepts
Source
John Heil (From an Ontological Point of View [2003], 19.8 n14)
Book Reference
Heil,John: 'From an Ontological Point of View' [OUP 2005], p.235
A Reaction
Coining a few concepts isn't going to help, but discovering more about the brain might. With computer simulations we will 'see' more of the physical end of thought. Psychologists may break thought down into physically more manageable components.