Frank Jackson Knowledge Argument

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Frank Jackson’s knowledge argument, which famously implements the hypothetical example of Mary the color researcher, aims to refute physicalism on the argument that exposure to new information is evidence that not all information is physical. Jackson argues for this position by demonstrating not only that physicalism (in a broad sense) is incorrect, but that there is non-physical information, or subjective experiences (called qualia) that make up part of experience. The knowledge argument’s strength lies in its targeting of one premise of the physicalist argument--completeness--and while there are strong cases against it, Jackson’s argument is sufficient to refute physicalism. The physicalist argument is relatively straightforward; it states that all information is physical (including biological and chemical) information. The …show more content…
She knows all the cones, rods and neurons that activate when someone sees something red (e.g. a strawberry). For some sadistic reason, Mary has spent her entire life in a black-and-white room with her only access to the world being on a black-and-white monitor. The first time she leaves the room, however, she spots a ripe red strawberry; it is her first time ever experiencing color, despite having devoted her life to studying color. The question is one of whether she has gained new knowledge. According to Jackson, she has, and that is sufficient to refute physicalism. This is explained in the knowledge argument, the structure of which is described as follows. First (1), M knows everything physical about X (in this case, “M” is Mary, and “X” is the neurovisual system related to color). Thus (2), M possesses all the physical information

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In this paper, I will argue that property dualism is not a good argument against physicalism by showing that the knowledge argument and the modal argument are not good very good arguments. Qualia are subjective experiences (pg. 3). Physicalism is the view that every property is physical, and it can be explained by science (pg. 29). Property dualism refers to the philosophical view that the mind is one single substance, but contains two properties; the physical brain and the nonphysical qualia (pg…

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