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Our Epistemic Access to Intrinsic Properties Our Epistemic Access to Intrinsic Properties Towards a Compromise between Epistemic Humility and Panpsychism Mohit Varma MA thesis in Philosophy, FIL4090 Associate Professor, Sebastian Watzl UNIVERSITETET I OSLO IFIKK Spring 2018 II Our Epistemic Access to Intrinsic Properties Towards a Compromise between Epistemic Humility and Panpsychism Mohit Varma MA thesis in Philosophy, FIL4090 Mentor: Associate Professor, Sebastian Watzl UNIVERSITETET I OSLO IFIKK Spring 2018 III © Forfatter År Tittel Forfatter http://www.duo.uio.no/ Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo IV Summary The MA thesis takes on the task of asking the question whether we can have knowledge of the identities of intrinsic properties in substances. First I look at why we should even question our knowledge of the intrinsic properties in objects. And then, I inquire into what it would mean to have knowledge of an intrinsic property. The main two views I consider in the context of this question are epistemic humility: The view that claims we are ignorant of the intrinsic properties in objects. And, panpsychism: The view that we can know the intrinsic phenomenal properties through introspection. I weigh on the arguments that the two main defenders of the epistemic humility theses propose up against our ordinary conception of having epistemic access to intrinsic properties. Then, I propose that there may still be a way out of the predicament that Langton (1998) with her Kantian Humility and Lewis (2009) with his Ramseyan Humility puts us in. By inquiring into knowledge of properties of qualia through introspection, we may be able to save ourselves from being in principle ignorant of these intrinsic properties. I consider what other philosophers such as Raamy Majeed (2013), (2017) have to say in this debate and try to weigh up the arguments given for both sides of the debate. I propose to offer a way of compromise between the two views that may solve some of the problems that both epistemic humility and panpsychism may face, both in the department of metaphysics and in philosophy of mind. Hopefully, there is something to be gained by such a compromise. V VI Acknowledgements I would like to thank my mentor Sebastian Watzl for helping me throughout the semesters since Fall of 2016, and guiding me to form my thesis question. I am indebted to the countless meetings and comments that helped improving the content and quality of the thesis by a great margin, and for showing great patience in helping to form my ideas and arguments throughout the reading and writing process. This could not have been made possible without him, and for that I am grateful for having him as my mentor. VII VIII Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Chapter I..................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1. A Langtonian and Lewisian Definition of ‘Intrinsic’......................................... 4 1.2. Structuralism as a Problem................................................................................. 8 1.3. Clearing Out Other Conflations........................................................................ 12 1.4. Three answers................................................................................................... 16 Chapter II.............................................................................................................. .................. 20 2.1. A Brief Outline of Kant's Transcendentalism.................................................. 20 2.2. Kant's claim and the problem of the unknowable thing in itself...................... 22 2.3. The Distinction................................................................................................. 24 2.4. Receptivity........................................................................................................ 29 2.5. Irreducibility..................................................................................................... 33 2.6. Kantian Humility.............................................................................................. 36 Chapter III.............................................................................................................. ................. 39 3.1. The prior discourse regarding theoretical terms............................................... 39 3.2. Lewis's Setup and Terminology....................................................................... 41 3.3. The First Argument for Ramseyan Humility.................................................... 44 3.4. The Second Argument for Ramseyan Humility............................................... 47 3.5 Further Implications of Ramseyan Humility.................................................... 49 Chapter IV.............................................................................................................. ................. 53 4.1. Introspective Knowledge.................................................................................. 53 4.2. Qualia............................................................................................................... 58 4.2.1. A first approach.................................................................................... 58 4.2.2. Some conceptions on qualia................................................................. 60 4.2.3. Panpsychist's argument from conceivability........................................ 61 4.3. What is Panpsychism? ..................................................................................... 63 Chapter V.............................................................................................................. .................. 66 5.1. What Should We Grant Epistemic Humility? ................................................. 66 5.2. The Panpsychist's Reply to Epistemic Humility.............................................. 70 5.2.1. Kantian Panpsychism? ......................................................................... 71 IX 5.2.2. The Problem from Science................................................................... 73 5.2.3. The Argument from Introspective Knowledge..................................... 75 5.2.3.1. 1..................................................................................... 75 5.2.3.1. 2..................................................................................... 78 5.3. The Materialist's Reply..................................................................................... 80 5.4. Raamy Majeed's Arguments............................................................................. 83 5.4.1. I............................................................................................................. 83 5.4.2. II............................................................................................................ 88 Conclusion.............................................................................................................. ................ 93 6.1. Summary of the inquiry.................................................................................... 93 6.2. Towards a Conclusion...................................................................................... 95 Literature list ............................................................................................................................ 99 X Introduction n this Master’s Thesis I ask the question whether we have knowledge of the intrinsic properties of objects or not. I will more specifically focus on the view known as I Epistemic Humility. And, I will mainly consider panpsychism as a view that can offer a way to avoid the conclusion epistemic humility proposes. More will be said about these two views later on. Now, Rae Langton (1998) and David Lewis (2009) who propose two variations of an epistemic humility thesis have cast doubt on our knowledge of the intrinsic properties in objects. And the literature has recently increased in this area of discussion. Expanding with Langton (2004), Schaffer (2005), Whittle (2006), Locke (2009), Kelly (2013), Raamy Majeed (2017) and Yates (2018). Epistemic Humility is basically the view that offers silence on the identities of the intrinsic properties in objects. But, that doesn’t mean we cannot know there are intrinsic properties in the world, rather, we do not know which intrinsic property is had by what object. Therefore, the conclusion is that if we do not know the identities of the intrinsic properties in those objects. Then there is something we are missing out on regarding the reality of this world in our everlasting quest to quench our thirst for more knowledge. What does it mean to have knowledge of the identities of intrinsic properties? It means that we not only know that there exist intrinsic properties in the world, but we have epistemic access to the identities of those properties. In other words, knowledge of intrinsic properties requires – by the aforementioned understanding – knowledge of a token intrinsic property. Knowledge of a token intrinsic property simply means we have knowledge of the identity of a particular intrinsic property. This means that we know the identity of ‘this’ or ‘that’ intrinsic property of a particular thing or object. Also, I will implicitly use the sentence ‘knowledge of intrinsic properties’ or similar to mean ‘knowledge of the identities of intrinsic properties’. The two sentences will be understood
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