Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind
Quick Summary
Wilfrid Sellars's essay "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind" critiques the traditional idea that we have direct, certain knowledge of our own sensory experiences, a concept he terms the "myth of the given". Sellars sought to reconcile the scientific understanding of reality with the human experience of being conscious, morally accountable agents.1
He argued that science is the ultimate arbiter of existence, stating, "In the dimension of describing and explaining the world, science is the measure of all things". Sellars proposed that mental states can be understood through their functional roles in thought, a concept that influenced the theory of functionalism in the philosophy of mind. This perspective suggests that mental states could, in principle, be realized in computers as well as biological organisms. Sellars also explored how language and social interaction shape our understanding of the world and ourselves.12
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