Robinson, Jackson, CS Lewis

what is the general idea of Lewis argument

He analyses looking at vs looking along;

He doesn't think these are equally valuable in all contexts, when it comes to anything, we need to be open to the possibility that looking along and looking at are both important; you can't automatically discount either of these because they are both important in different contexts- we need both in a holistic approach

We need both experience and material knowledge to know/understand something- both perspectives are necessary for understanding reality

Looking at: a person who knows about love but have not experienced it

looking along: having experienced it

what does mary not know in the black and white room in Jackson’s argument?

She doesn't know what its like for her others to experience color- she doesn't know what it feels like to see red

what is the general idea of jackson’s argument

subjective experiences cannot be fully explained by physical facts

Consciousness has a non- physical aspect that physical theories cannot capture

main argument robinson

materialism struggles to account for consciousness and subjective experience. The core issue is that materialism cannot accommodate the “what it is like” aspect of experience

materialism robinson

the view that only the physical exists

subjective state robinson

the “what it is like” aspect of an experience, accesible from the first-person perspective

robinson examples

• a deaf scientist can know everything about the neurology of hearing but still not know “what it is like to hear”

• similarly, one can study a Martian with a sixth sense but not grasp the subjective experience of that sense

robinson conclusion

The subjective element of consciousness poses a significant challenge to materialism

main argument Jackson

f physicalism is true, then complete physical knowledge is complete knowledge. However, Mary, who knows all the physical facts about color but has never experienced it, learns something new when she sees color, proving physicalism false

Physicalism Jackson

the thesis that everything is physical. Complete knowledge of the physical world is complete knowledge, period.

evidence jackson

• Mary lives in a black-and-white room and learns all the physical facts about the world, including neurophysiology

• When Mary is released and sees color, she learns "what it is like" to see color, which she didn't know before. This is a fact about the experiences of others that she was unaware of

conclusion jackson

Mary gains new knowledge that isn't physical, thereby refuting physicalism. The knowledge argument emphasizes knowledge about the experiences of others

main argument CS Lewis

There's a crucial difference between "looking at" something (external observation) and "looking along" something (experiencing it from within) Neither perspective is inherently superior; both are necessary for a comprehensive understanding

definitions cs lewis

Looking at: Examining something from an external, objective viewpoint

Looking along: Experiencing something from an internal, subjective viewpoint

examples cs lewis

Seeing a sunbeam as a strip of light vs. seeing the sun and leaves by looking along the beam

A scientist analyzing love as biological stimulus vs. a person in love

A physiologist studying the mathematician's brain vs. the mathematician contemplating timeless truths

counterargument cs lewis

It is tempting to think that looking at is truer because we are often deceived by looking along

conclusion cs lewis

Discounting internal experiences entirely is problematic because (1) you need internal experience to give meaning to external observations and (2) external observations are themselves experiences that can be further deconstructed. We must consider each case on its merits without pre-judgment