What the Senses Cannot ‘Say’

Philosophical Quarterly 73 (2):557-579 (2023)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Some have claimed that there are laws of appearance, i.e. in principle constraints on which types of sensory experiences are possible. Within a representationalist framework, these laws amount to restrictions on what a given experience can represent. I offer an in-depth defence of one such law and explain why prevalent externalist varieties of representationalism have trouble accommodating it. In light of this, I propose a variety of representationalism on which the spatial content of experience is determined by intrinsic features of conscious subjects. I conclude by considering an externalist-friendly reworking of my proposal, but suggest that the success of such a reworking is dubious.

Other Versions

No versions found

Analytics

Added to PP
2022-07-09

Downloads
417 (#69,373)

6 months
99 (#61,613)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Jon Morgan
Montclair State University

Citations of this work

Add more citations

References found in this work

On the Plurality of Worlds.David K. Lewis - 1986 - Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell.
The origin of concepts.Susan Carey - 2009 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Consciousness and Experience.William G. Lycan - 1996 - Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
On the Plurality of Worlds.David Lewis - 1986 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 178 (3):388-390.

View all 45 references / Add more references