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It is not the case that Therefore the infinite regress is blocked without positing self-illumination, undermining the primary motivation for the self-luminosity thesis.
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Reasons For
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Reason for
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1.
Alternative regress-blockers (like externalism) relocate rather than solve the epistemic problem of how we access knowledge of those external structures.
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2.
Unconscious mental states require explanation; denying self-luminosity doesn't explain how unconscious states possess intentionality or content.
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3.
The argument assumes regress-blocking is sufficient motivation for self-luminosity, but self-luminosity could be true independently of regress concerns.
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Reasons Against
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Reason against
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1.
Alternative explanations of mental content (e.g., externalism, functionalism) can block infinite regress without requiring consciousness to illuminate itself.
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2.
Self-luminosity has counterintuitive consequences like requiring all mental states to be conscious, conflicting with empirical evidence of unconscious mental processes.
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3.
If regress can be stopped by foundational structures external to consciousness, positing self-illumination becomes metaphysically unnecessary and violates parsimony.
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