Sellars on the Myth of the Given - Epistemology Video 9
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- This is video 9 in an introductory course on epistemology, the philosophy of knowledge. In this video we look at a criticism of foundationalism about observational beliefs. Wilfrid Sellars argued, in his seminal Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind (1956), that foundational observational beliefs would have to be two inconsistent things at the same time: they have to be given, that is, obtaining them requires no application of epistemic standards; and yet they have to be able to justify beliefs, which means that they need to have conceptual form. But, Sellars claims, the use of concepts always requires the application of epistemic standards. If so, this generates trouble for foundationalism.
Victor Gijsbers teaches philosophy at Leiden University in the Netherlands. You can follow him on mastodon: @victorgijsbers@mastodon.gamedev.place.
This video is part of a lecture series originally recorded for my students during the 2023/2024 spring semester. The entire playlist is here: • Course in Epistemology
Thank you professor. This was massively helpful.
I think the blue and black or gold or white dress meme is perfect example
It’s a VISUALLY ambiguous perception influencing judgement. It’s a great example.
*Seeing the brown table* does imply other things, even if our subject has no access to concepts.
1. It implies a subject, a mind, for one thing.
2. It also implies numerical concept of one vs. many.
3. Space & time. If one is "seeing the brown table," there must be an "over there" at which the table is located. At a certain point in time.
4. That crafting a judgment/intelligibility exists.
Well there are clearly and distinctly two psychological ( mental ) actions going on here. One is perception which is neurobiological and the other is our identification or interpretation of what we perceive which is conceptual. Perception is indubitable ( foundational ). Otherwise you contradict yourself.
Does it lead to inner state of consciousness
Control is the foundation of civilization.
You should develop and justify.
@@theenthusiasticamateurpian9033 Why?
@@joszefrviz398 because it is the very base in philosophy that you have to justify your belief. And because I see no link between he belief you expose and the subject of the course which is the myth of the given of W Sellars.
Would you agree that the givenness of things though in itself not helpful to calls of judgement/action could be the way things are in themselves, prior to any conceptualization?
Can we trace this all the way back to the medieval and even classical Greek ideas about the active/passive intellect?
Please do a video on Quine or Feyerabend
Not planning one in the epistemology course, although I'd probably do Feyerabend, whom I really like, in a philosophy of science course. I do have a video on Two Dogmas of Empiricism on the channel.
ohhhh youre back! i thought you left without completing wittgenstein book. Are you still going to complete it? i really like how you explain stuff
I'm planning to, but it will probably not be completed very soon. :-)
@Victor Gijsbers - In your view, is it possible that artificial intelligence is an attempt to respond to the epistemic problems that Hume and Kant raised?
In what sense? I'm not sure I understand the question! (To be honest, I think most current artificial intelligence deserves the name 'intelligence' only in the most derivative of senses.)
@VictorGijsbers After 200+ years of empiricism, is the desire for AI an unconscious attempt to find a properly basic epistemic starting point for metaphysics and ethic?
@@andrewpirr I hope not, since AI as we have it today isn't even epistemic at all. (When we're thinking about things like LLMs at least. Of course there are also attempts to implement logical reasoning and so on in AI systems.)
But I can't claim to know about people's unconscious motivations. 😅
@@VictorGijsbers thank you for responding and for your lectures
Will you do any videos on testimony? Including Hume, Locke, Reid, Coady etc
Yes, I will. Hume and Reid, probably, not sure how far I'll take it beyond that, I still have to decide.
I have recorded three videos on testimony: one on reductionist (Humean) views; one on non-reductionist views, which I call 'testimony and trust'; and one on questions about testimony as transmission. They'll come up in about 10 days or two weeks or so.
@@VictorGijsbers Thank you so much for letting me know!
Animals can see the world, but they can not understand what "the world" is.