Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts
Major
Philosophy
Date of Defense
4-25-2024
Graduate Advisor
Olin Lauren
Committee
Rohloff Waldemar
Jon McGinnis
Abstract
Abstract: In the realm of philosophy of mind, a central inquiry concerns whether perceptual experiences have content. This paper aims to construct an argument, termed Argument from Attention, which asserts that all visual experiences have content in the minimal sense, drawing upon insights from phenomenological features of attentional experience and mechanisms of attention elucidated in The Erotetic Theory of Attention. To achieve this goal, the paper begins by clarifying the essential features of contentful experience in Section 2. Furthermore, the second subsection scrutinizes Siegel's Argument from Appearances, highlighting the susceptibility of her Weak Content View to the Indeterminacy Objection articulated by Charles Travis in The Silences of the Senses. Through a meticulous analysis of the shortcomings of Sigel’s argument in the third subsection, the paper navigates towards outlining a plausible pathway for substantiating the minimalist content view. In Section 3, the paper embarks on an endeavor to traverse this pathway, advancing an argument from attention and rigorously defending each step in the argument across subsequent subsections.
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Ling 鳕鱼 张, "Attentional Alchemy: Crafting Meaning in the Fabric of Experience ---An Argument from Attention for The Content View" (2024). Theses. 476.
https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/476
