Language, Epistemology, Metaphysics, and Mind Research Interest Group Talk (Angela Mendelovici, Western)

The Language, Epistemology, Metaphysics, and Mind Research Group welcomes Angela Mendelovici, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western University and a member of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy there. Her research focuses on intentionality, consciousness, and the relationship between the two. Her book The Phenomenal Basis of Intentionality (Oxford University Press, 2018) defends an account of intentionality ultimately based in phenomenal consciousness.

Join the Zoom meeting: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/85270271243

Talk Title

Singular Experiences (with and without Objects)

Talk Abstract

Perceptual experiences seem to in some sense have singular contents. For example, a perceptual experience of a brown dog seems to represent some particular dog as being brown. There are important phenomenological, intuitive, and semantic considerations for thinking that perceptual experiences represent singular contents, but there are also important phenomenological, epistemic, and metaphysical considerations for thinking that they do not. This paper proposes a two-tier picture of the content of singular perceptual experiences that is based on phenomenal intentionality theories of intentionality combined with self-ascriptivism about derived representation, a combination of views that allows mental states to have two types of contents: phenomenal contents and derived contents. On the proposed picture, singular perceptual experiences represent singular phenomenal contents, which do not involve worldly objects, as well as singular derived contents, which do involve worldly objects. This picture accommodates and reconciles the considerations for and against thinking that perceptual experiences have singular contents.

About the Language, Epistemology, Metaphysics and Mind Research Group

One of six departmental research interest groups, the Language, Epistemology, Metaphysics and Mind Group undertakes research in philosophy of mind, philosophy of cognitive science, traditional and formal epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of language.