strongvirtue
Member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2021
- Messages
- 24
Greetings everyone,
I'm currently getting ready for my Philosophy of Mind exam. Although I would have loved to contact Ray personally, that option is no longer possible unfortunately. Hence, I'm seeking help from all you brilliant minds in this forum.
I have a question regarding Ray's perspective on the mind-body problem. I'm aware that Ray's philosophy is deeply influenced by William Blake's, which perceives the entire world as being alive.
While it may not align with the mainstream interpretation of Blake's work, which often characterizes him as anti-rationalistic or anti-empiricist, Ray's understanding of Blake is not strictly anti-empiricist. In fact, Ray places significant emphasis on empirical experience, As Ray himself quoted in his article: "As the true method of knowledge is experiment, the true faculty of knowing must be the faculty which experiences."
From a philosophical standpoint, drawing from my understanding of Ray's newsletter and articles, it appears that Ray holds a position as a materialist and/or physicalist. However, his stance is not that of a typical physicalist. While traditional dualism asserts that the mind and body are distinct entities, Ray's perspective aligns more closely with the identity theory, where the brain and mind are not fundamentally separate from one another, that they are the same thing.
Now my question is, how do you think Ray would react to the powerful anti-physicalist argument known as the knowledge argument, due to Australian Philosopher Frank Jackson?
(=> A classic illustration of this argument is the scenario of Mary in a black and white room. Despite Mary's extensive knowledge of color, including its physical properties, wavelengths, and how the brain processes each wavelength, she lacks firsthand experience of color due to her confinement in the black and white environment. Suddenly, the door opens, and she has the opportunity to perceive color for the very first time. In this moment, she acquires knowledge about the subjective experience of color that eluded her despite an eternity of studying color solely through a "physicalist" lens.)
Love to everyone and thanks for any input :)
I'm currently getting ready for my Philosophy of Mind exam. Although I would have loved to contact Ray personally, that option is no longer possible unfortunately. Hence, I'm seeking help from all you brilliant minds in this forum.
I have a question regarding Ray's perspective on the mind-body problem. I'm aware that Ray's philosophy is deeply influenced by William Blake's, which perceives the entire world as being alive.
While it may not align with the mainstream interpretation of Blake's work, which often characterizes him as anti-rationalistic or anti-empiricist, Ray's understanding of Blake is not strictly anti-empiricist. In fact, Ray places significant emphasis on empirical experience, As Ray himself quoted in his article: "As the true method of knowledge is experiment, the true faculty of knowing must be the faculty which experiences."
From a philosophical standpoint, drawing from my understanding of Ray's newsletter and articles, it appears that Ray holds a position as a materialist and/or physicalist. However, his stance is not that of a typical physicalist. While traditional dualism asserts that the mind and body are distinct entities, Ray's perspective aligns more closely with the identity theory, where the brain and mind are not fundamentally separate from one another, that they are the same thing.
Now my question is, how do you think Ray would react to the powerful anti-physicalist argument known as the knowledge argument, due to Australian Philosopher Frank Jackson?
(=> A classic illustration of this argument is the scenario of Mary in a black and white room. Despite Mary's extensive knowledge of color, including its physical properties, wavelengths, and how the brain processes each wavelength, she lacks firsthand experience of color due to her confinement in the black and white environment. Suddenly, the door opens, and she has the opportunity to perceive color for the very first time. In this moment, she acquires knowledge about the subjective experience of color that eluded her despite an eternity of studying color solely through a "physicalist" lens.)
Love to everyone and thanks for any input :)