The Knowledge Argument

doi:10.1017/9781316494134

Frank Jackson's knowledge argument imagines a super-smart scientist, Mary, forced to investigate the mysteries of human colour vision using only black and white resources. Can she work out what it is like to see red from brain-science and physics alone? The argument says no: Mary will only really learn what red looks like when she actually sees it. Something is therefore missing from the science of the mind, and from the 'physicalist' picture of the world based on science. This powerful and controversial argument remains as pivotal as when it was first created in 1982, and this volume provides a thorough and incisive examination of its relevance in philosophy of mind today. The cutting-edge essays featured here break new ground in the debate, and also comprehensively set out the developments in the story of the knowledge argument so far, tracing its impact, past, present, and future.

‘A significant contribution to the debate surrounding the understanding of consciousness, mind, and matter, the volume includes a collective bibliography of all the essays and a comprehensive index.’

J. Orgeron Source: Choice

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Contents

The Knowledge Argument
pp i-i
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Classic Philosophical Arguments - Series page
pp ii-ii
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The Knowledge Argument - Title page
pp iii-iii
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Copyright page
pp iv-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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Contributors
pp vii-viii
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Introduction: The Enduring Significance of Jackson’s Knowledge Argument
pp 1-14
- By Sam Coleman
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1 - The Knowledge Argument Is an Argument about Knowledge
pp 15-31
- By Tim Crane
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2 - There’s Nothing about Mary
pp 32-61
- By David Rosenthal
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3 - Acquaintance, Parsimony, and Epiphenomenalism
pp 62-86
- By Brie Gertler
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4 - Acquaintance and Phenomenal Concepts
pp 87-101
- By David Pitt
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5 - The Knowledge Argument Meets Representationalism about Colour Experience
pp 102-117
- By Frank Jackson
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6 - The Mary-Go-Round
pp 118-140
- By Galen Strawson
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7 - Concept Mastery, Social Externalism, and Mary’s New Knowledge
pp 141-160
- By Torin Alter
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8 - Mary’s Powers of Imagination
pp 161-179
- By Amy Kind
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9 - The Knowledge Argument Is Either Indefensible or Redundant
pp 180-197
- By Tom McClelland
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10 - Grounding, Analysis, and Russellian Monism
pp 198-222
- By Philip Goff
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11 - Phenomenal Knowledge Why: The Explanatory Knowledge Argument against Physicalism
pp 223-253
- By Hedda Hassel Mørch
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12 - The Knowledge Argument and the Self
pp 254-268
- By Robert J. Howell
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13 - What Uninformed Mary Can Teach Us
pp 269-280
- By Michael Tye
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Bibliography
pp 281-298
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Index
pp 299-304
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The Knowledge Argument

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Contents

The Knowledge Argument
pp i-i

Classic Philosophical Arguments - Series page
pp ii-ii

The Knowledge Argument - Title page
pp iii-iii

Copyright page
pp iv-iv

Contents
pp v-vi

Contributors
pp vii-viii

Introduction: The Enduring Significance of Jackson’s Knowledge Argument
pp 1-14

1 - The Knowledge Argument Is an Argument about Knowledge
pp 15-31

2 - There’s Nothing about Mary
pp 32-61

3 - Acquaintance, Parsimony, and Epiphenomenalism
pp 62-86

4 - Acquaintance and Phenomenal Concepts
pp 87-101

5 - The Knowledge Argument Meets Representationalism about Colour Experience
pp 102-117

6 - The Mary-Go-Round
pp 118-140

7 - Concept Mastery, Social Externalism, and Mary’s New Knowledge
pp 141-160

8 - Mary’s Powers of Imagination
pp 161-179

9 - The Knowledge Argument Is Either Indefensible or Redundant
pp 180-197

10 - Grounding, Analysis, and Russellian Monism
pp 198-222

11 - Phenomenal Knowledge Why: The Explanatory Knowledge Argument against Physicalism
pp 223-253

12 - The Knowledge Argument and the Self
pp 254-268

13 - What Uninformed Mary Can Teach Us
pp 269-280

Bibliography
pp 281-298

Index
pp 299-304

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The Knowledge Argument

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