Event Timeslots (1)
Monday
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The philosophy of perception is concerned with questions about the nature of perceptual experience. To illustrate, what exactly is the kind of mental state that I undergo when I see the tree outside my window? In the second half of the 20th century, representationalism about perceptual experience was the dominant view. This view claims that to perceive is to undergo a mental state that has a content – that represents the world as being a certain way. By contrast, naïve realists deny that perception is representational, and insist that it consists in an immediate perceptual relation to one’s environment. Naïve realism has received a lot of attention in recent years, not all of it positive. In the seminar, we will start with an introduction into the philosophy of perception, before turning to an in-depth exploration of naïve realism, and finally to the arguments of its critics.
Readings will be announced via Moodle. For an introduction to the philosophy of perception, see William Fish (2010). Philosophy of Perception: A Contemporary Introduction. New York: Routledge.
