Keith Allen
Biographic Data
| ID | 3743749 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Keith Allen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Keith |
| FAMILY NAME | Allen |
| SIGNATURE | ALLEN K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of York |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3219-2102 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 8 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
David Katz's Phenomenology of Colour and Light
David Katz was an empirical psychologist with a deep and abiding interest in phenomenology. This paper reconstructs his theory of colour and colour perception, central to which is a distinctive account of the perception of illumination and empty space. Katz's views were an important influence on both the Gestalt psychologists and phenomenologists such as Merleau‐Ponty, and have contemporary relevance to ongoing debates about the nature of colour …
Scientific or naïve? Perceptions of direct and indirect realism, and why they matter
Philosophical debates about the nature of perception are standardly informed by an empirical assumption about folk beliefs: They assume there is such a thing as “the” common‐sense conception of vision, and that this conception is captured by Direct Realism. This naïve theory is thought to compete with scientifically informed Indirect Realism. This paper discusses how to render these claims empirically tractable and reports a scientific accuracy r…
Home Dissatisfaction, Body Image, and Sociocultural Attitudes
This article explores home dissatisfaction using methods modelled on those used to understand negative body image and its causes. We found that a substantial proportion of UK participants (13–39%) expressed dissatisfaction with their homes. Although the strongest association was between home dissatisfaction and reported physical problems, there was evidence that dissatisfaction is also predicted by experiencing pressure from the media and your fa…
Fragmented and conflicted
Many philosophical debates take for granted that there is such a thing as ‘the’ common-sense conception of the phenomenon of interest. Debates about the nature of perception tend to take for granted that there is a single, coherent common-sense conception of vision, consistent with Direct Realism. This conception is often accorded an epistemic default status. We draw on philosophical and psychological literature on naïve theories and belief fragm…
What is it like to be colour‐blind? A case study in experimental philosophy of experience
What is the experience of someone who is “colour‐blind” like? This paper presents the results of a study that uses qualitative research methods to better understand the lived experience of colour blindness. Participants were asked to describe their experiences of a variety of coloured stimuli, both with and without EnChroma glasses—glasses which, the manufacturers claim, enhance the experience of people with common forms of colour blindness. More…
Reflective Intuitions about the Causal Theory of Perception across Sensory Modalities
Many philosophers believe that there is a causal condition on perception, and that this condition is a conceptual truth about perception. A highly influential argument for this claim is based on intuitive responses to Gricean-style thought experiments. Do the folk share the intuitions of philosophers? Roberts et al. (2016) presented participants with two kinds of cases: Blocker cases (similar to Grice’s case involving a mirror and a pillar) and N…
The Value of Perception
This paper develops a form of transcendental naïve realism . According to naïve realism, veridical perceptual experiences are essentially relational. According to transcendental naïve realism, the naïve realist theory of perception is not just one theory of perception amongst others, to be established as an inference to the best explanation and assessed on the basis of a cost‐benefit analysis that weighs performance along a number of different di…
Cudworth on Mind, Body, and Plastic Nature
Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688) is a member of the group of philosophers and theologians commonly called 'the Cambridge Platonists'. Although not part of the canon of great early modern philosophers, Cudworth's work is of more than merely passing interest. Cudworth was an influential philosopher in the early modern period both for his criticisms of contemporaries like Hobbes, Descartes, and Spinoza, and for his own distinctive philosophical views. Thi…
Causation and Modern Philosophy
Selected Contents: Introduction, Keith Allen and Tom Stoneham 1: Galileo: Reflections on Failure, David Wootton 2: Primary and Secondary Causes In Descartes's Physics, Tad M. Schmaltz 3: Causation and the Cartesian Reduction of Motion: God's Role in Grinding the Gears, William Eaton and Robert Higgerson 4: Spinoza's Conatus as an Essence Preserving, Attribute-Neutral Immanent Cause: Toward a New Interpretation of Attributes and Modes, Eric Schlie…
The Value of Perception
This paper develops a form of transcendental naïve realism . According to naïve realism, veridical perceptual experiences are essentially relational. According to transcendental naïve realism, the naïve realist theory of perception is not just one theory of perception amongst others, to be established as an inference to the best explanation and assessed on the basis of a cost‐benefit analysis that weighs performance along a number of different di…
Cudworth on Mind, Body, and Plastic Nature
Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688) is a member of the group of philosophers and theologians commonly called 'the Cambridge Platonists'. Although not part of the canon of great early modern philosophers, Cudworth's work is of more than merely passing interest. Cudworth was an influential philosopher in the early modern period both for his criticisms of contemporaries like Hobbes, Descartes, and Spinoza, and for his own distinctive philosophical views. Thi…
Fragmented and conflicted
Many philosophical debates take for granted that there is such a thing as ‘the’ common-sense conception of the phenomenon of interest. Debates about the nature of perception tend to take for granted that there is a single, coherent common-sense conception of vision, consistent with Direct Realism. This conception is often accorded an epistemic default status. We draw on philosophical and psychological literature on naïve theories and belief fragm…
Causation and Modern Philosophy
Selected Contents: Introduction, Keith Allen and Tom Stoneham 1: Galileo: Reflections on Failure, David Wootton 2: Primary and Secondary Causes In Descartes's Physics, Tad M. Schmaltz 3: Causation and the Cartesian Reduction of Motion: God's Role in Grinding the Gears, William Eaton and Robert Higgerson 4: Spinoza's Conatus as an Essence Preserving, Attribute-Neutral Immanent Cause: Toward a New Interpretation of Attributes and Modes, Eric Schlie…
Cudworth on Mind, Body, and Plastic Nature
Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688) is a member of the group of philosophers and theologians commonly called 'the Cambridge Platonists'. Although not part of the canon of great early modern philosophers, Cudworth's work is of more than merely passing interest. Cudworth was an influential philosopher in the early modern period both for his criticisms of contemporaries like Hobbes, Descartes, and Spinoza, and for his own distinctive philosophical views. Thi…
The Value of Perception
This paper develops a form of transcendental naïve realism . According to naïve realism, veridical perceptual experiences are essentially relational. According to transcendental naïve realism, the naïve realist theory of perception is not just one theory of perception amongst others, to be established as an inference to the best explanation and assessed on the basis of a cost‐benefit analysis that weighs performance along a number of different di…
Reflective Intuitions about the Causal Theory of Perception across Sensory Modalities
Many philosophers believe that there is a causal condition on perception, and that this condition is a conceptual truth about perception. A highly influential argument for this claim is based on intuitive responses to Gricean-style thought experiments. Do the folk share the intuitions of philosophers? Roberts et al. (2016) presented participants with two kinds of cases: Blocker cases (similar to Grice’s case involving a mirror and a pillar) and N…
What is it like to be colour‐blind? A case study in experimental philosophy of experience
What is the experience of someone who is “colour‐blind” like? This paper presents the results of a study that uses qualitative research methods to better understand the lived experience of colour blindness. Participants were asked to describe their experiences of a variety of coloured stimuli, both with and without EnChroma glasses—glasses which, the manufacturers claim, enhance the experience of people with common forms of colour blindness. More…
Home Dissatisfaction, Body Image, and Sociocultural Attitudes
This article explores home dissatisfaction using methods modelled on those used to understand negative body image and its causes. We found that a substantial proportion of UK participants (13–39%) expressed dissatisfaction with their homes. Although the strongest association was between home dissatisfaction and reported physical problems, there was evidence that dissatisfaction is also predicted by experiencing pressure from the media and your fa…
Fragmented and conflicted
Many philosophical debates take for granted that there is such a thing as ‘the’ common-sense conception of the phenomenon of interest. Debates about the nature of perception tend to take for granted that there is a single, coherent common-sense conception of vision, consistent with Direct Realism. This conception is often accorded an epistemic default status. We draw on philosophical and psychological literature on naïve theories and belief fragm…
Scientific or naïve? Perceptions of direct and indirect realism, and why they matter
Philosophical debates about the nature of perception are standardly informed by an empirical assumption about folk beliefs: They assume there is such a thing as “the” common‐sense conception of vision, and that this conception is captured by Direct Realism. This naïve theory is thought to compete with scientifically informed Indirect Realism. This paper discusses how to render these claims empirically tractable and reports a scientific accuracy r…
David Katz's Phenomenology of Colour and Light
David Katz was an empirical psychologist with a deep and abiding interest in phenomenology. This paper reconstructs his theory of colour and colour perception, central to which is a distinctive account of the perception of illumination and empty space. Katz's views were an important influence on both the Gestalt psychologists and phenomenologists such as Merleau‐Ponty, and have contemporary relevance to ongoing debates about the nature of colour …
Epistemology (6 works) · Philosophy (6 works) · Psychology (5 works) · Perception (4 works) · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics (3 works) · Classical Philosophy and Thought (2 works) · Direct and indirect realism (2 works) · Mathematics (2 works) · Metaphysics (2 works) · Philosophy and Theoretical Science (2 works)