The Case for Qualia
- ISBN-10
- 0262731886
- ISBN-13
- 9780262731881
- Category
- Philosophy
- Pages
- 384
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2008
- Publisher
- MIT Press
- Author
- Harold I. Brown
Description
Many philosophers and cognitive scientists dismiss the notion of qualia, sensoryexperiences that are internal to the brain. Leading opponents of qualia (and of Indirect Realism,the philosophical position that has qualia as a central tenet) include Michael Tye, Daniel Dennett,Paul and Patricia Churchland, and even Frank Jackson, a former supporter. Qualiaphiles apparentlyface the difficulty of establishing philosophical contact with the real when their access to it isseen by qualiaphobes to be second-hand and, worse, hidden behind a "veil of sensation" -- a positionthat would slide easily into relativism and solipsism, presenting an ethical dilemma. InThe Case for Qualia, proponents of qualia defend the Indirect Realist positionand mount detailed counterarguments against opposing views. The book firstpresents philosophical defenses, with arguments propounding, variously, a new argument fromillusion, a sense-datum theory, dualism, "qualia realism," qualia as the "cement" of theexperiential world, and "subjective physicalism." Three scientific defenses follow, discussingcolor, heat, and the link between the external object and the internal representation. Finally,specific criticisms of opposing views include discussions of the Churchlands' "neurophilosophy,"answers to Frank Jackson's abandonment of qualia (one of which is titled, in a reference toJackson's famous thought experiment, "Why Frank Should Not Have Jilted Mary"), and refutations ofTransparency Theory. Contributors: Torin Alter, Michel Bitbol, Harold I. Brown,Mark Crooks, George Graham, C.L. Hardin, Terence E. Horgan, Robert J. Howell, Amy Kind, E.J. Lowe,Riccardo Manzotti, Barry Maund, Martine Nida-Rümelin, John O'Dea, Isabelle Peschard, MatjažPotrc, Diana Raffman, Howard Robinson, William S. Robinson, John R. Smythies, Edmond Wright EdmondWright is the editor of New Representationalisms: Essays in the Philosophy ofPerception and the author of Narrative, Perception, Language, andFaith.
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