Perceptual KnowledgeThis book grew out of the lectures that I prepared for my students in epis temology at SUNY College at Brockport beginning in 1974. The conception of the problem of perception and the interpretation of the sense-datum theory and its supporting arguments that are developed in Chapters One through Four originated in these lectures. The rest of the manuscript was first written during the 1975-1976 academic year, while I held an NEH Fellowship in Residence for College Teachers at Brown University, and during the ensuing summer, under a SUNY Faculty Research Fellowship. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the National Endowment for the Humanities and to the Research Foundation of the State University of New York for their support of my research. I am grateful to many former students, colleagues, and friends for their stimulating, constructive comments and criticisms. Among the former stu dents whose reactions and objections were most helpful are Richard Motroni, Donald Callen, Hilary Porter, and Glenn Shaikun. Among my colleagues at Brockport, I wish to thank Kevin Donaghy and Jack Glickman for their comments and encouragement. I am indebted to Eli Hirsch for reading and commenting most helpfully on the entire manuscript, to Peter M. Brown for a useful correspondence concerning key arguments in Chapters Five and Seven, to Keith Lehrer for a criticism of one of my arguments that led me to make some important revisions, and to Roderick M. |
Contents
A PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEM CONCERNING PERCEPTION AND KNOWLEDGE | 11 |
1 WHY PERCEPTION DOES NOT AMOUNT TO KNOWLEDGE | 12 |
2 DOES PERCEPTION UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS OF OBSERVATION AMOUNT TO KNOWLEDGE | 14 |
3 THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE CONDITIONS BE KNOWN TO BE NORMAL | 20 |
THE SENSEDATUM THEORY | 26 |
THE ARGUMENT FROM PERCEPTUAL RELATIVITY | 30 |
2 EVALUATION OF THE ARGUMENT | 35 |
THE ARGUMENT FROM CAUSATION | 47 |
4 THE JUSTIFICATION THESIS I | 95 |
5 THE JUSTIFICATION THESIS II | 110 |
PHENOMENALISM | 123 |
ITS PARADOXES | 129 |
3 THE LINGUISTIC VERSION OF THE SENSEDATUM THEORY AND ANALYTICAL PHENOMENALISM | 143 |
PHENOMENALISM AND THE CAUSAL THEORY OF PERCEPTION A COMBINED THEORY | 156 |
2 THE ADVERBIAL THEORY OF APPEARING | 158 |
3 A COMBINED THEORY | 167 |
2 AN EPISTEMOLOG1CAL VERSION OF THE ARGUMENT | 52 |
A CRUCIAL DISTINCTION | 59 |
THE ARGUMENT FROM HALLUCINATION | 67 |
1 ANALYSIS OF THE ARGUMENT FROM HALLUCINATION | 68 |
2 A REFORMULATION OF THE ARGUMENT | 74 |
THE CAUSAL THEORY OF PERCEPTION | 77 |
2 THE ANALYTIC THESIS | 80 |
3 DOES THE CAUSAL THEORY IMPLY THAT PHYSICAL OBJECTS ARE UNPERCEIVABLE? | 88 |
4 EPISTEMOLOGICAL PHENOMENALISM AND CRITICAL COGNITIVISM | 179 |
THE ENTAILMENT OF APPEARSTATEMENTS BY THINGSTATEMENTS | 183 |
THE ENTAILMENT OF THINGSTATEMENTS BY APPEARSTATEMENTS | 193 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 216 |
| 220 | |
| 222 | |
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Common terms and phrases
A. J. Ayer analysis of perceiving analytic thesis analytical phenomenalism appeared Argument from Causation basis best explanation C. I. Lewis causal analysis caused Chapter conditions of observation dagger Descartes entails entities envelope epistemological example existence and nature fact false follows formulation given perceptual experience H. H. Price hallucination hallucinatory immediate object immediately perceived imply inference introducing sense-data J. L. Austin justification thesis justified Keith Lehrer kind known solely means metaphysical neurophysiologists object of perception obtained by perceiving ontological phenomenalism part-cause perceivede perceiver's perceiving a physical perception and knowledge perceptual judgments perceptual knowledge Perceptual Relativity person phenomenalist philosophers philosophy of perception physical objects physical things possible sense-data premiss present perceptual experience principle problem of perception question R. M. Chisholm reason Roderick Firth sense Sense and Sensibilia sense-datum theory suppose theory of perception thing or surface thing-statement tion tomato true visual experience visual perception visual sense-data yield knowledge