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Embodiment and the Perceptual Hypothesis

Embodiment and the Perceptual Hypothesis
Embodiment and the Perceptual Hypothesis
The Perceptual Hypothesis is that we sometimes see, and thereby have non?inferential knowledge of, others' mental features. The Perceptual Hypothesis opposes Inferentialism, which is the view that our knowledge of others' mental features is always inferential. The claim that some mental features are embodied is the claim that some mental features are realised by states or processes that extend beyond the brain. The view I discuss here is that the Perceptual Hypothesis is plausible if, but only if, the mental features it claims we see are suitably embodied. Call this Embodied Perception Theory. I argue that Embodied Perception Theory is false. It doesn't follow that the Perceptual Hypothesis is implausible. The considerations which serve to undermine Embodied Perception Theory serve equally to undermine the motivations for assuming that others' mental lives are always imperceptible.
0031-8094
570-591
Mcneill, William
be33c4df-0f0e-42bf-8b9b-3c0afe8cb69e
Mcneill, William
be33c4df-0f0e-42bf-8b9b-3c0afe8cb69e

Mcneill, William (2012) Embodiment and the Perceptual Hypothesis. The Philosophical Quarterly, 62 (248), 570-591. (doi:10.1111/j.1467-9213.2012.00065.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The Perceptual Hypothesis is that we sometimes see, and thereby have non?inferential knowledge of, others' mental features. The Perceptual Hypothesis opposes Inferentialism, which is the view that our knowledge of others' mental features is always inferential. The claim that some mental features are embodied is the claim that some mental features are realised by states or processes that extend beyond the brain. The view I discuss here is that the Perceptual Hypothesis is plausible if, but only if, the mental features it claims we see are suitably embodied. Call this Embodied Perception Theory. I argue that Embodied Perception Theory is false. It doesn't follow that the Perceptual Hypothesis is implausible. The considerations which serve to undermine Embodied Perception Theory serve equally to undermine the motivations for assuming that others' mental lives are always imperceptible.

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More information

Published date: July 2012
Organisations: Philosophy

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 393213
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/393213
ISSN: 0031-8094
PURE UUID: 44ad9432-7b96-43e5-83d4-c9232fb34958
ORCID for William Mcneill: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3647-0720

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Date deposited: 05 May 2016 13:07
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:53

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