Can subjectivity be naturalized?
pp. 15-25
Résumé
Subjectivity can be naturalized if and only if it can be reduced to nonperspectival “centerless” reality or eliminated altogether. After briefly discussing Searle’s use of a distinction between epistemic and ontological subjectivity, I show that subjectivity cannot be identified with mind-dependence. Then I focus on a paradigm example of subjectivity: the first-person perspective. After explaining the rudimentary and robust stages of a first-person perspective, I turn to a key ingredient of a robust first-person perspective: a self-concept. Then, I argue that a self-concept expresses a nonconceptual dispositional property, which can be neither eliminated nor reduced without cognitive loss. Hence, first-person properties (expressed by self-concepts) cannot be reduced to nonperspectival “centerless” reality or eliminated altogether. Since such first-person properties are paradigmatic of subjectivity, subjectivity cannot be naturalized.
Détails de la publication
Publié dans:
Summa Michela, Giuffrida Pietro (2013) Naturalism and subjectivity. Metodo 1 (2).
Pages: 15-25
Citation complète:
Rudder Baker Lynne, 2013, Can subjectivity be naturalized? Metodo 1 (2), Naturalism and subjectivity, 15-25. https://doi.org/10.19079/metodo.1.2.15.