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    Phenomenal character is itself constitutive of representa... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Sensory ideas are not misrepresentations of qualities in objects, but are so obscure and confused that we cannot determine their representational content from their phenomenal character alone.

    Phenomenal character is itself constitutive of representational content for sensory states, not merely a symptom of it (Shoemaker, 'The Inverted Spectrum').

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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Inverted spectrum scenarios are conceivable only if phenomenal character can vary while functional/behavioral roles remain constant.
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    • 2.If two states have identical functional profiles but different qualia, their representational content must differ, making phenomenal character constitutive.
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    • 3.The explanatory gap between physical properties and qualia suggests phenomenal character carries representational information beyond physical facts.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Conceivability of inverted spectra doesn't entail metaphysical possibility; neurobiological constraints may make such inversions impossible.
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    • 2.Representational content depends on external causal-historical relations, not intrinsic phenomenal properties, per externalist theories of content.
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    • 3.Two organisms with identical functional organizations and causal histories should have identical representational contents, regardless of phenomenal differences.
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    Perception1 linkedPhilosophy of Language1 linked

    Related

    Conceivability of inverted spectra doesn't entail metaphysical possibility; neur...If two states have identical functional profiles but different qualia, their rep...Inverted spectrum scenarios are conceivable only if phenomenal character can var...Representational content depends on external causal-historical relations, not in...
    +3 moreShow less
    Sensory ideas are not misrepresentations of qualities in objects, but are so obs...The explanatory gap between physical properties and qualia suggests phenomenal c...Two organisms with identical functional organizations and causal histories shoul...

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