The Knowledge Argument

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title The Knowledge Argument
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Sam Coleman
SeriesClassic Philosophical Arguments
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:310
Dimensions(mm): Height 245,Width 175
Category/GenrePhilosophy of the mind
ISBN/Barcode 9781316506981
ClassificationsDewey:128.2
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations 1 Tables, black and white; 2 Line drawings, black and white

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 19 September 2019
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

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.

Author Biography

Sam Coleman is Reader in Philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire and is the author of various articles on philosophy of mind.

Reviews

'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, Choice