Analysis Of Frank Jackson s What Mary Didn t Know

Within the realm of philosophy, new ideas are formed, applauded, often questioned, and most carefully analyzed. These new ideas are what provoke thought, and help move progressive thinkers forward. This can be said to be true in Frank Jackson’s case, with his essay â€Å"What Mary Didn’t Know†. Jackson presents an argument that challenges the thoughts of physicalism, physicalism being, â€Å"†¦the challenging thesis that [the actual world] is entirely physical† (Jackson 291). Jackson creates what he calls the ‘knowledge argument’. In his essay Jackson presents the example of Mary, a woman who lives in an entirely black and white world. She is confined to her room, and everything is controlled so that all that Mary views is black and white. It is†¦show more content†¦However, Mary just learned something new. This new knowledge is not explainable in physical terms; it is something that must be experienced, and therefore Jackson cr eates an argument against the supposed truth of physicalism. Frank Jackson successfully proves his knowledge argument in his essay â€Å"What Mary Didn’t Know†. He shows that before leaving the black and white room, Mary was said to know all the physical facts, which under physicalism, encompasses knowing everything. After leaving the room, Mary has the new experience of seeing the color red, and gains new knowledge from it. Jackson states, â€Å"The contention about Mary is not that, despite her fantastic grip of neurophysiology and everything else physical, she could not imagine what it is like to sense red; it is that, as a matter of fact, she would not know† (Jackson 292). Thus, Jackson is able to prove that when leaving her room, Mary has learned something new. However, there are still several objections raised against this argument. One of the strongest objections comes from one questioning if when Mary leaves the room she has actually acquired some sort of new knowledge. The objection claims that since Mary truly knows all the physical facts, then from her vast knowledge she should be able to deduce what the color red looks like. Furthermore, if she does acquire new knowledge, it is only because she herself hasn’t drawn out the consequences of experiencing the color red.Show MoreRelatedBlack Naturalism and Toni Morrison: the Journey Away from Self-Love in the Bluest Eye8144 Words   |  33 PagesAlthough my students were unaware of it, in a sense what they were questioning from the standpoint of literary criticism is not only the theory of postmodernism with its emphasis on race, class and gender, but the theory of naturalism as well: the idea that one s social and physical environments can drastically affect one s nature and pote ntial for surviving and succeeding in this world. In this article, I will explore Toni Morrison s The Bluest Eye from a naturalistic perspective; however, whileRead MoreTechnology in Hotel Industry14045 Words   |  57 Pagesknowledge sharing might outrun the value gained by innovations if the knowledge lost would leave the knowledge sharing firm vulnerable. Yet, there is still a lack of understanding on which factors are responsible of the level of communication and to what extent. In particular, it has often been forgotten that HRM-related mechanisms are not only functional within firms, but also between firms. Thus, in this study, the HRM-related mechanisms that contribute to both of these areas are examined by usingRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesthat helps you actively study and prepare material for class. Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succ eed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai