Physicalism Could Be True Even if Mary learns Something New
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4870485 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Barbara Gail Montero (0000-0001-7013-7983, City University of New York, corresponding author), Barbara Montero |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 227 |
| Pages | 176-189 |
| Publication date | 2007-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9213.2007.478.x |
| OpenAlex | W2091030576 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 9 |
Mary knows all there is to know about physics, chemistry and neurophysiology, yet has never experienced colour. Most philosophers think that if Mary learns something genuinely new upon seeing colour for the first time, then physicalism is false. I argue, however, that physicalism is consistent with Mary's acquisition of new information. Indeed, even if she has perfect powers of deduction, and higher‐level physical facts are a priori deducible from lower‐level ones, Mary may still lack concepts which are required in order to deduce from the lower‐level physical facts what it is like to see red
A priori and a posteriori · Epistemology · Metaphysics · Order (exchange) · Physicalism · Aesthetic Perception and Analysis · Philosophy · Philosophy and Theoretical Science · Visual perception and processing mechanisms
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,27 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2025 (11) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |