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44Perceptual Pragmatism and the Naturalized Ontology of ColorTopics in Cognitive Science 8 (4). 2016.This paper considers whether there can be any such thing as a naturalized metaphysics of color—any distillation of the commitments of perceptual science with regard to color ontology. I first make some observations about the kinds of philosophical commitments that sometimes bubble to the surface in the psychology and neuroscience of color. Unsurprisingly, because of the range of opinions expressed, an ontology of color cannot simply be read off from scientists’ definitions and theoretical statem…Read more
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685Extending, changing, and explaining the brainBiology and Philosophy 28 (4): 613-638. 2013.This paper addresses concerns raised recently by Datteri (Biol Philos 24:301–324, 2009) and Craver (Philos Sci 77(5):840–851, 2010) about the use of brain-extending prosthetics in experimental neuroscience. Since the operation of the implant induces plastic changes in neural circuits, it is reasonable to worry that operational knowledge of the hybrid system will not be an accurate basis for generalisation when modelling the unextended brain. I argue, however, that Datteri’s no-plasticity constra…Read more
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45The Red and the Real: An Essay on Color OntologyInternational Studies in the Philosophy of Science 24 (3): 339-342. 2010.This Article does not have an abstract
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209Minimal models and canonical neural computations: the distinctness of computational explanation in neuroscienceSynthese 191 (2): 127-153. 2014.In a recent paper, Kaplan (Synthese 183:339–373, 2011) takes up the task of extending Craver’s (Explaining the brain, 2007) mechanistic account of explanation in neuroscience to the new territory of computational neuroscience. He presents the model to mechanism mapping (3M) criterion as a condition for a model’s explanatory adequacy. This mechanistic approach is intended to replace earlier accounts which posited a level of computational analysis conceived as distinct and autonomous from underlyi…Read more
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46Perceptual Pragmatism and the Naturalized Ontology of ColorTopics in Cognitive Science 9 (1): 151-171. 2017.This paper considers whether there can be any such thing as a naturalized metaphysics of color—any distillation of the commitments of perceptual science with regard to color ontology. I first make some observations about the kinds of philosophical commitments that sometimes bubble to the surface in the psychology and neuroscience of color. Unsurprisingly, because of the range of opinions expressed, an ontology of color cannot simply be read off from scientists’ definitions and theoretical statem…Read more
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22Ecumenicism, Comparability, and Color, or: How to Have Your Cake and Eat It, TooMinds and Machines 25 (2): 149-175. 2015.Data about perceptual variation motivate the ecumenicist view that distinct color representations are mutually compatible. On the other hand, data about agreement and disagreement motivate making distinct color representations mutually incompatible. Prima facie, these desiderata appear to conflict. I’ll lay out and assess two strategies for managing the conflict—color relationalism, and the self-locating property theory of color—with the aim of deciding how best to have your cake and eat it, too
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30The Self-Locating Property Theory of ColorMinds and Machines 25 (2): 133-147. 2015.The paper reviews the empirical evidence for highly significant variation across perceivers in hue perception and argues that color physicalism cannot accommodate this variability. Two views that can accommodate the individual differences in hue perception are considered: the self-locating property theory, according to which colors are self-locating properties, and color relationalism, according to which colors are relations to perceivers and viewing conditions. It is subsequently argued that on…Read more
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5Natural scenes and the dipper functionIn Robert Schwartz (ed.), Perception, Blackwell. pp. 33--176. 2004.
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