Jacksons Disagreement

477 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Materialism

Materialism is the belief that all things can be explained in physical terms or by science. Frank Jackson argues against this belief. Jackson’s philosophy is that not only are materialism false, but he also claims that consciousness is a subjective experience that can not be defined by any physical term or by science. The nonphysical experience known as qualia is Jackson’s explanation of consciousness. Qualia is the nonphysical feeling that can not be explained in physical terms or by science. Humans can not understand the feeling of qualia without experiencing it themselves.
Materialism suggests that everything that occurs have some type of scientific relationship or physical term. Jackson goes through his argument looking for proof until he gets one idea. Jackson performs an experiment that demonstrates that consciousness is a qualia feeling and that one can not understand or learn the feeling with out experiencing it. The subject he uses is Mary. Mary is an extremely bright scientist and since she could remember she was placed in a room with nothing but black and white. With limiting her sight to only this black and white gray-scale, she is unaware of what true color looks like. All her life she is educated through newspapers, television and teachers giving lectures. Near the end of the experiment she has mastered every aspect of the physical terms and science explaining the process of viewing color. One example was that she knew that an apple was red, but she cannot grasp the concept if she has never seen it. The final part of the experiment is to present to her real color. They use a red apple to demonstrate this.
The hypothesis for the experiment follows the laws of materialism. They hypothesized that Mary would not have a shocking reaction to the apple. They believed that she would know that the apple carried those characteristics. In the conclusion of the experiment they find out that their hypothesis was wrong and that Mary was shocked to find out what red really looked like. For the first time in her life she noticed that there was more to the red apple than the physical description. She felt qualia, the feeling of actually seeing the color. This proves that materialism cannot fully explain the world.

Show More
Related

  • Smart's Essay 'Sensations And Brain Processes'

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    He claims that science has been used extensively to describe almost every property of the world. Science has led to the description of the world as a compilation of “increasingly complex arrangements of physical constituents” (Rosen 372). However, an aspect that is not included in science’s complex explanation of the world is states of consciousness, like sensations and pains.

    Read More

  • Frank Jackson and Physicalism

    461 Words  | 1 Pages

    Jackson contends that if physicalism were true, Mary would know what a color looks like before she would ever see that color. This, however, is false since Mary could not possibly know what the color looks like before exposure to it. It is impossible for any person to imagine what a color looks like before they see any color at all. Jackson writes, "imagination is a faculty that those who lack knowledge need to fall back on."

    Read More

  • The Victim Precipitation Theory: The Case Of Nicole Brown Simpson

    1814 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Victim Precipitation Theory argues that the victim provokes the attack against the (Argosy University, 2016). The reason I selected this victimology theory is because Nicole proceeded to date or be involved with Ron and still came and went to the residence where she was married to Simpson. Nicole knew he was unstable, she should have removed herself from that residence and definitely not have brought anyone she was involved with there. By doing that I feel it might have provoked Simpson, by all means his actions are not justified, but could have been provoked in his mind be some of Nicole’s actions. The Criminology theory that I feel best fits this case is the Social Disorganization Theory. The Social Disorganization Theory is a person’s physical and social environments are primarily responsible for that person’s own behavior (Argosy University, 2016). In this case I believe Simpson was embarrassed that his marriage failed and Nicole was out flaunting a new relationship and was happy. This was belittling and embarrassing to the famous football player and he was unable to control the situation, so he took matters into his own hands. Simpson’s behavior was due to his environment, and he got away with it because of the love society had for him as a football player and actor. While Nicole’s murder was unjustified, Simpson felt his actions were justified because he got away with it. Simpson said to Esquire Magazine in 1998, “Let’s say I committed the crime…even if I did do this, it would have been because I loved her so much, right?” (About Relationships, 2016). A statement like that only tells me in his mind his actions were justified, even though his case was

    Read More

  • The Mind-Brain Problem Concerning Dualism and Materialism

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    I am faced with the philosophical task of defending either dualism or materialism, depending on which one is most attractive to me. So either I support the theory of dualism, which is the belief that there is both a physical and a spiritual state, or I believe in materialism, which is the belief that everything that exists is material or physical. Although I believe materialism to be easier to prove, I find dualism more attractive to believe. Throughout the following, I will attempt to build a case for the theory of dualism giving insights both documented and personal. I will also shed light on the theory of materialism and the proofs that support this theory; showing that although materialism has a strong argument, essentially, it the less attractive of the two.

    Read More

  • Essay On Substance Dualism

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    In philosophy, reductive materialism indicates that everything that exists can be explained in physical terms. Moreover, all phenomena are only physical phenomena that could be explained by natural laws. Reductive materialism is a theory that postulates that mental states can be reduced to physical states. For example, a belief, a desire or a thought is nothing more than certain physical-chemical or neural configurations of the brain.

    Read More

  • The Bats, the Blind, and the Butterflies

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ctive and objective experiences are. The analogy of the bat is an exceptional case, because no human has any idea of the bat’s perception of the world. The mind-body problem is directly linked to this idea. One might attempt to explain his perception, but he is unable to completely communicate his subjective experience. The analogy of the butterfly is an interesting one; the answer may seem obvious, and so the rest of the problem is ignored. The mind-body problem can’t be solved until scientists learn more about consciousness and mental states. Physicalism (i.e. materialism) cannot be the answer according to what we know now, but could be proven true in the future.

    Read More

  • On Consciousness and the Hard Problem

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, Block fails to give an answer to Chalmers’ hard problem. While both Block and Chalmers hold the idea that there is a separation between the physical access to the world and phenomenal consciousness, Block’s account fails to escape the invalidation of his argument with the example of Mary’s case through the knowledge argument. However, an insightful explanation of the access consciousness and how it work provides us a better understanding of cognitive properties, and certainly separates it from phenomenal consciousness. Though this essentially becomes categorized under the easy problem, and leaves the hard problem at bay.

    Read More

  • Apology In The Apology Of Socrates

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Plato 's “The Apology of Socrates”, Socrates is charged with not accepting the gods recognized by the state, devising new gods, and corrupting the youth of Athens. However, the word "apology" in the title is not our modern understanding of the word. The name of the speech stems from the Greek word "apologia," which translates as a speech made in defense. Thus, “The Apology of Socrates” is an account of the speech Socrates makes at the trial in which he defends himself, not apologizes. (The Apology) (SparkNotes Editors)

    Read More

  • Jacksonian Democracy

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    Topic: Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity.

    Read More

  • Frank Jackson's What Mary Didn T Know

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    He first acknowledges the hypothesis, accepting but also implementing it in his response. He says whether or not quale is knowledge or abilities, it still does not change the fact that she learned factual information of other people. Quale is completely subjective, we don’t know how others perceive the color red or the smell of rose, but we do know that they have their own conscious experience. Although, Mary knew that there was such an experience existent, actually seeing red gives her the knowledge of what it is like to perceive it. Therefore, the experience could give her an idea, or some kind of knowledge that she did not know before of other people. Including skepticism in the argument highlights Mary’s thought process that can only by achieved through facts. If qualia were abilities, she would have nothing to think about. This stimulates the reader to think, what if she only achieved abilities? That still wouldn’t alter the fact that the abilities now give her a way to understand people better. She was aware of the abilities before her release, knowing she did not possess them, but then acquiring those abilities would cause her to question herself; do I now know more of others. The skepticism itself highlights factual knowledge. Thus it can be conceded that qualia are real properties, since there

    Read More

  • Defense Of Socrates Apology

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 399 bce, Socrates was sentenced to death by the Athenian jury for supposedly corrupting the youth’s morals and thought patterns. Socrates had spent his life as an Athenian citizen, fighting in the Peloponnesian wars and as he got older, practiced philosophy and critical questioning, teaching other Athenians free of charge. In Plato’s Apology, he records the speech Socrates made to the jury during his trial. Its title Apology in this case, reads the opposite as it would today; his speech is his defense, for he believes he has not done wrong.

    Read More

  • Jackson's Argument Using The Ability Response

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lewis tried to undermine Jackson’s argument using the ability response. This response distinguishes between ‘knowledge how’ and knowledge that’. Consider two examples:

    Read More

  • Dbq Advertising Research Paper

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    Looking through the eyes of an adolescent, many things are seemingly a necessity. From clothes to materialistic things, advertising has brainwashed the American society and has stripped them of their better judgement. Although there are many perks to advertising like awareness, promotion, and entertainment, the advertising world is harmful to society.

    Read More

  • Introduction To The Sophists

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    Socrates on the other hand, was self thought and believed that he was wise enough to know that he could be ignorant at times. Unlike the sophists, he was not rich and did not ask for fines to teach people of this wisdom he had learnt. He was an orator, a great orator at that but according to the dialogue in Plato’s Apology (1.17c) he was not the kind of man who would talk in a formal tone as he was used to talking in common places. Socrates also saw himself as a god sent to open the eyes of the people to see what they had not learned.

    Read More

  • The Apology Of Socrates

    316 Words  | 1 Pages

    Apology of Socrates was a famous historical account written by Plato. In this account, Socrates was not apologizing for anything; instead, he was defending for himself at his trial (Plato’s Apology 11). Thus, the title of this account was actually misleading. Socrates was brought in a trial because he was charged of being impiety to gods, inventing new deities, claiming the wisest man, and corrupting the youth of Athens (Plato’s Apology 16). However, I felt the main reason for his accusation was due to his teaching method, which might lead to a revolution.

    Read More

More about Jacksons Disagreement

Open Document