PhilSci Archive

The Robots of the Dawn of Experimental Philosophy of Mind

Sytsma, Justin (2013) The Robots of the Dawn of Experimental Philosophy of Mind. [Preprint]

[img]
Preview
PDF
Robots_of_Dawn__preprint.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (197kB)

Abstract

In this chapter, I consider two hypotheses that have informed recent work in experimental philosophy of mind. The first is a positive hypothesis put forward by Fiala, Arico, and Nichols (FAN): Categorization of an entity as an agent through fast, automatic, and domain-specific processing produces a disposition to ascribe a wide range of mental states to that entity. The second is a negative hypothesis put forward by Sytsma and Machery: The existence of phenomenally conscious mental states is not obvious from first-person experience with states like seeing red and feeling pain. I argue that these hypotheses are not necessary at odds. Despite this, empirical results reported by Sytsma and Machery raise concerns for FAN's hypothesis, while results reported by FAN in response raise concerns for our hypothesis. I address these concerns in this essay, presenting the results of four new studies that support our negative hypothesis against FAN's challenge.


Export/Citation: EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL
Social Networking:
Share |

Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Sytsma, Justin
Additional Information: Forthcoming in Current Controversies in Experimental Philosophy edited by E. Machery and E. O'Neill and published by Routledge.
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science
Depositing User: Justin Sytsma
Date Deposited: 07 Sep 2013 15:15
Last Modified: 07 Sep 2013 15:15
Item ID: 9987
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science
Date: 7 September 2013
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9987

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item