This book includes two series of lectures specifically designed to defend and illustrate Sellars’s conception of philosophy as an attempt to gain reflective knowledge of how the various dimensions of human conceptual activity fit together and relate to the world of physical things and events. The approach is broadly analytic, empiricist and naturalistic. A most distinctive feature is the use of the concept of a framework of theoretical entities to show a way between the horns of the dilemmas characteristic of perception theory, the problem of other minds, the unity of the person and the controversy over ‘ordinary language’. This is accompanied by a critique of certain other attempts to put this concept to philosophical use, including recent claims that the relation of the framework of physical objects to sense impressions is analogous to that of the ‘objects’ of a scientific theory to the observation framework it is designed to explain. 1, «Philosophy and the scientific image of man» : consists of two lectures given at the University of Pittsburgh in December, 1960, as part of a series of lectures in the history and philosophy of science by various contributors. It was printed in Frontiers of Science and Philosophy (Robert Colodny, editor) and published by the University of Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh : 1962); – 2, «Being and Being Known» : lecture given at the St. Louis meeting of The American Catholic Philosophical Association in April, 1960, and reprinted from the Proceedings of the Association; – 3, «Phenomenalism» : written in 1959 for inclusion in another volume, but was withdrawn and requires no acknowledgement; – 4, «The language of Theories» : read at the 1959 meeting of The American Association for the Advancement of Science (Section L), and printed in Current Issues in the Philosophy of Science (Herbert Feigl and Grover Maxwell, editors), published by Henry Holt, Rhinehart and Winston (New Yorl : 1961); – 5, «Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind» : lectures delivered at the University of London in March, 1956, under the title, «The Myth of the Given : Three Lectures on Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind», from : Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. I, The Foundations of Science and the Concepts of Psychology and Psychoanalysis, edited by Herbert Feigl and Michael Scriven. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. Copyright 1956 by the University of Minesota; – 6, «Truth and ‘Correspondence’» : opening paper in a symposium on Logic and Reality at the 1961 meeting of the Metaphysical Society. Printed in the Journal of Philosophy, 59, 1962; – 7, «Naming and Saying» : opening paper in a symposium on Reference and Use at the 1961 meeting of the American Philosophical Asociation (Western Division). Published in Philosophy of Science, 29, 1962; – 8, «Grammar and Existence : a Preface to Ontology» : consists of two lectures given at Yale University in March, 1958. Published in Mind, 69, 1960; – 9, «Particulars» : originally appeared in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 13, 1952; – 10, «Is there a Synthetic A priori» : revised version of a paper read at a symposium on this topic at the 1951 meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Eastern Division). Published in Philosophy of Science, 20, 1953. The present version appeared in American Philosophers at Work (Sidney Hook, editor), New York (Criterion Press, 1958); – 11, «Some Reflections on Language Games» : originally printed in Philosophy of Science, Vol. 21, 3 July 1954, pp. 204-228. Copyright © 1954 The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore 2, Md., U.S.A. It appears here in a revised version prepared in 1955 for publication in Volume I of Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, but withdrawn to make room for «Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind». M.-M. V.

Unreflexive common sense thinks of sense-perception as a direct grasping of the nature of the physical world. But when we are confronted with facts about sensory illusion, about the physical and physiological causes of perception, and with modern scientific views of the real nature of matter, it is hard to maintain such a “Direct Realist” theory of perception. We tend to substitute a Copy or Representative theory which puts sense-impressions between ourselves and physical reality. Some philosophers overwhelmed by the difficulties of the Copy theory, retreat into Phenomenalism, which identifies the physical world with our sense-impressions. – The author contends that there are insuperable difficulties for the Representative and Phenomenalist theories. He re-examines all the traditional objections to a Direct Realist theory, and tries to show that they can be overcome. – Part One, «Are the sensible qualities subjective ?» : 1, Arguments to prove the sensible qualities subjective (from sensation, from the relativity of sensible qualities, from illusion); – Part Two, «The argument from illusion» : 2, What are the immediate objects of awareness in perception ?; 3, Refutation of the representative theory of perception (We have no reason to believe in the existence of the physical objects postulated by the representative theory; On the representative theory, there can be no resemblance between sense-impressions and physical objects; The conception of a physical object which cannot be immediately perceived is illogical); 4, Some features of sense-impressions (Can there be sense-impressions nobody has ?; Are sense-impressions just as they appear to be ?); 5, Refutation of phenomenalism, 1 (The phenomenalist gives unperceived physical objects a merely hypothetical existence; The phenomenalist must admit that a universe that contains no minds contains no matter either; Physical objects, which are determinate, cannot be constructions out of indeterminate sense-impressions); 6, Refutation of phenomenalism, 2 (Difficulties for the phenomenalist account of space and time; Phenomenalism can give no account of the numerical difference of minds that exist at the same time; Phenomenalism can give no satisfactory account of the nature of a mind); 7, An analysis of sensory illusion (Sensory illusion as false belief that we are perceiving; “Perception without belief”; Is “perception without belief” essentially belief-inducing ?; A psychological explanation of the occurrence of some sensory illusions); – Part Three, «The argument from verification» : 8, The argument from verification; 9, The nature of perception (Perception always involves the acquiring of knowledge of particular facts about the physical world, by means of our senses; Perception is nothing but the acquiring of knowledge of particular facts about the physical world, by means of our senses); 10, Consequences of our account of the nature of perception (The existence of unconscious perception; Are there intermediate cases between veridical and illusory perception ?; Reformulation of the empiricist theory of the way we acquire empirical concepts; The distinction between sensory illusion and hallucination; The nature of sense-impressions; The argument from verification answered); – Part Four, «The argument from causation» : 11, The argument from causation (The argument from the time-gap); – Part Five, «The argument from science» : 12, The argument from science (Scientific phenomenalism; Difficulties for scientific penomenalism); 13, Direct realism without scientific penomenalism (Can scientific findings undermine perception ?; The argument from paradigm cases); 14, Problems about the secondary qualities (The apparent simplicity of the secondary qualities; Are the secondary qualities really simple ?; Can the secondary qualities be reduced to primary qualities ?); 15, Can physical objects have nothing but the primary qualities ? – Conclusion. M.-M. V.

The authors provide a comprehensive treatment of the major questions of epistemology in an intelligible and non-partisan way, while at the same time exhibiting full knowledge of contemporary publications. Rather than offering an eclectic treatment of disparate problems, the merits of the many different types of approach to epistemology are clearly explained and judiciously assessed. Cartesian and Humean scepticism are also carefully described and distinguished, and fuller treatment than usual is given of rational belief and of Gettier’s problem. – Chapter I, Scepticism and certainty (Introduction; Descartes and Hume; The appeal to ordinary language; The grounds of uncertainty; Basic knowledge); – Chapter II, Belief (Theories of belief; Belief as mental act; Belief behavioural disposition; Belief as mental state); – Chapter III, The analysis of knowledge (Kinds of knowledge; The Platonic definition of knowledge: Is knowledge analysable ?; The truth conditions of knowing; Alternative approaches; The Gettier problem; Defeasibility and causality); – Chapter IV, Perception (The common sense view of perception; The argument from illusion; Sense data; Primary and secondary qualities; The phenomenalist alternative; The realist alternative; Sensing and perceiving); – Chapter V, Memory (The ways of remembering; The representative theory of memory; The role of imagery; The realist theory of memory; Memory, perception, and scepticism; Are perception and memory necessarily reliable ?; The concept of the past; Conclusion); – Chapter VI, A priori knowledge (Knowing without experience; Some distinctions; Theories of the A priori; Scepticism and the A priori; Critics of analyticity); – Chapter VII, Truth (Theories of truth; Correspondence as the nature of truth; The semantic theory; Redundancy theories).– Concluding remarks. – Bibliography p. 204-208. M.-M. V.

This book limits its examination to those works of Moore which are primarily epistemological in nature. Moore’s ethical views are specifically omitted from consideration here, except insofar as they illustrate some epistemological point. Klemke relies primarily upon the original writings themselves, and the topics he considers are arranged under three main headings. – In Part One, he discusses problems which are methodological in nature : Moore’s notion of philosophy, his appeal to common sense, the place of ordinary language, the meanings of «meaning», and various kinds of analysis. – In Part Two, Klemke takes up such topics as the kinds of knowledge which Moore finds possible, theories of truth, and the relation of consciousness to knowledge. – In Part Three, it is dealt with a specific epistemological problem, perception, about which Moore wrote many papers. – Contents : – Part One, «Philosophical method» : Chapter I, What is philosophy ?; Chapter II, The appeal to common sense; Chapter III, Ordinary language; Chapter IV, The meanings of “meaning”; Chapter V, Analysis. – Part Two, «Knowing about knowing» : Chapter VI, The ways of knowing; Chapter VII, Consciousness and knowledge; Chapter VIII, Truth and falsity. – Part Three, «The problem of perception» : Chapter IX, Perception and the external world; Chapter X, The introduction of sense-data; Chapter XI, The problem of perception and its solution. M.-M. V.

Première édition en langue française, Paris : Payot, 1926 (Coll. Bibliothèque scientifique). La présente édition en est une réimpression à l’identique. – Il s’agit d’une tentative de concilier deux tendances différentes, et apparemment inconciliables, l’une caractérisant la psychologie, l’autre la physique. La conception susceptible de réaliser une telle conciliation entre la tendance matérialiste de la psychologie moderne et la tendance anti-matérialiste de la physique (qui réduit le monde à un ensemble de forces, d’énergies, de points théoriques, d’événements abstraits) est la conception de William James et des néo-réalistes américains, selon lesquels la substance du monde ne serait ni mentale ni matérielle, mais neutre, et c’est de cette substance neutre que seraient faits aussi bien le monde mental que le monde matériel. – Chap. I, Récentes critiques de la« conscience»; – II, Instinct et habitude; – III, Désir et sentiment; – IV, Influence de l’histoire passée sur l’état actuel des organismes vivants; – V, Lois causales psychologiques et physiques; – VI, Introspection; – VII, Définition de la perception; – VIII, Sensations et images; – IX, Le souvenir; – X, Mots et sens des mots; – XI, Idées générales et pensée; – XII, Croyance; – XIII, Vérité et fausseté; – XIV, Émotions et volonté; – XV, Traits caractéristiques des phénomènes mentaux. M.-M. V.

Cet ouvrage restitue le cours prononcé en Sorbonne durant l’année universitaire 1964-1965 par G. S.. Plus qu’une histoire de la perception, ce cours élabore une véritable philosophie de la perception, voire même une “ histoire perceptive de la philosophie” (Préf. R. B. p. XIV). La thèse défendue par l’A. affirme que la perception ne relève pas de la connaissance mais de la vie et qu’elle exprime le mode original d’exploration et d’élaboration du monde : la perception est la modalité fondatrice du rapport vivant et actif de l’homme ( et de l’animal) à son milieu. Ainsi, une histoire de la perception renvoie en dernière instance à l’histoire des sujets humains dans leur rapport vital à leur milieu. - La première partie de cet ouvrage est consacré à l’étude de la perception dans la pensée occidentale (de l’Antiquité aux théories modernes de la perception comme activité) et constitue une histoire de la perception et plus largement de la philosophie de la perception. La seconde partie (”rôle et sens biologique de la fonction perceptive”) rend compte de la signification du noyau vital de la perception depuis les cinèses et les taxies jusqu’aux véritables perceptions d’objets et l’appréhension des formes. La troisième partie (”Perception et information : les effets psychologiques”) s’attache à une description de la figure du monde perçu à la lumière des résultats de la psychologie scientifique et accorde une assez grande place à la Théorie de la Forme et aux illusions géométriques. Mais ces lois psychologiques n’étant pas isolables, G. S. examine dans la quatrième partie (”Perception et affectivité - effets de contexte ; motivation”) la notion d’effet de contexte. Enfin, la cinquième partie (”Perception et activité - conséquences pratiques pour la technologie humaine”) se concentre autour de la question de la technique en tant que mode de relation entre l’homme et son milieu. Il s’agit bien pour G. S. d’élaborer une philosophie de la perception, c’est-à-dire “une philosophie pour laquelle l’objet perçu délivre le sens d’être de tout être” (Préf. R. B. p. XVI), une philosophie où la perception est l’origine normative des autres modalités de rapport au monde. M.-M. V.

One of the main targets of Barry Stroud’s criticism in his recent book ‚The Quest for Reality. Subjectivism and the Metaphysics of Colour’ are eliminativist theories of colour which he regards as a version of the metaphysical project of the unmasking of colours (Stroud, 2000). According to this view, no physical objects have any of the colours we see them or believe them to have. However, although this error theory describes all our colour perceptions as illusory, and all our colour beliefs as false, it cannot deny that we actually perceive colours and that we do believe that physical objects are coloured. Therefore, it has to account for these psychological facts without relying on any assumptions about the colours of things. Thus, the central question for the unmasking project is whether it is possible to acknowledge someone’s perceiving a certain colour or having beliefs about the colours of things without holding that anything anywhere has any colour at all. Contrary to Stroud, this paper defends the view that we can acknowledge that people believe in colours without having ourselves to accept their existence.

Dispositional theories of the colours of objects identify an object’s having a certain colour with its being such that it would produce perceptions of certain kinds in perceivers of certain kinds under certain specified conditions. Without doubting that objects have dispositions to produce perceptions of certain kinds, this paper questions whether the relevant kinds of perceptions, perceivers, and conditions can be specified in a way that (i) does not rely on acceptance of any objects as being coloured in a non-dispositional sense and (ii) secures the necessity of the identity between an object’s having the disposition so specified and its having the colour in question. Accepting any theory that looked as if it succeeded on both these counts would require an explanation of why a parallel identity does not hold for an object’s disposition to produce, e.g., perceptions of shape.

This paper discusses the claim that certain creatures possess a faculty different from any of those with which we are familiar. M.-M. V.

Cet article entend montrer que la philosophie de la physique de Russell et la variété de réalisme structural qu’il promeut se comprennent à partir de deux exigences fondamentales, formulées respectivement par Eddington et Whitehead, à savoir : 1/ la promotion de la structure au détriment de la substance et le mouvement inexorable de «désubstantialisation» de la matière; mais aussi 2/ l’exigence de «défaire les abstractions» de la physique en tentant de jeter un pont entre physique et perception.

Are perceptual experiences reasons for perceptual beliefs? The act/content ambiguity of the term ‘belief’ carries over to this question. It is argued, following Popper, that experiences are reasons as well as causes for belief-acts, but not for belief-contents. This involves rejecting justificationism, the mistaken view that a reason for a belief-act must be a reason for its content. Popper's many critics presuppose justificationism, and so miss the main point of his solution to the problem of the empirical basis of science.

Dans une première partie, on définit et on met en évidence le rôle paradigmatique du calcul (dans l'acception turingienne du terme). On discute ensuite de la possibilité de rendre compte de la perception (distinguée de la reconnaissance de forme) à l'intérieur de ce paradigme. Après avoir conclut négativement, on s'interroge sur la mutation anthropologique que révèle l'informatisation de la science et de la société.

In the first part, one defines and exposes the paradigmatic role of computing (in the Turingian sense of the term). One then discusses the possibility of accounting for perception (distinguished from the recognition of form) within this pattern. Having concluded in the negative, one questions the anthropological mutation resulting from the computerization of science and society.

Le noème est-il une instance médiatrice purement conceptuelle relayant le trajet intentionnel de la conscience vers l'objet de sa visée ou désigne-t-il l'objet en tant que tel visé par la conscience, « la chose même » ? Cet article examine ce problème, dont l'enjeu porte sur la définition du noème. – Références bibliographiques, pp. 210-211.

F. F.

Actes des Journées d'étude internationales tenues à l'Université de Nantes les 3 et 4 octobre 2005 issus des quatrièmes journées « Chromatiques ». L'ensemble des contributions interroge la philosophie de la nature de Whitehead à partir de son oeuvre pionnière dans ce champ d'étude : An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Natural Knowledge (PNK – 1919/1925). – Sommaire, pp. 3-4 ; Abréviations, p. 5 ; Table des matières, pp. 275-276. F. F.

Cet article examine les pensées du corps et de la perception mises en oeuvre par Whitehead en vue d'une élucidation du concept de nature et montre en quoi elles offrent des perspectives inexplorées par la phénoménologie de Husserl. Dans un premier temps, l'auteur met en évidence le sens du corps dans la découverte sensible de la nature, puis montre grâce à quels concepts médiateurs l'idée d'une nature commune peut être pensée. Enfin il termine sur la genèse du concept scientifique de nature dans son rapport à l'expérience. – Notes, pp. 199-202. F. F.

Entreprendre une analyse des sensations pour parvenir à déterminer leurs éléments derniers en vue de constituer un sensationnalisme intégral appuyé sur des travaux de psychophysiologie, tel est l'objectif de cet ouvrage, publié pour la première fois en 1886 par le physicien, philosophe et historien des sciences Ernst Mach (1838-1916), l'inspirateur du Cercle de Vienne. Couleurs, tons, pressions, espaces, durées sont autant d'éléments communs au monde intérieur (psychique) et au monde extérieur (physique) à partir desquels il est possible de développer une généalogie des corps et de la vie psychique. La présente traduction a été établie à partir de la 9e édition, version définitive de l'ouvrage. – Préface, pp. i-xxxi ; Notice sur le texte et la traduction, pp. xxxiii-xxxvi ; Table des matières, p. 323.

F. F.

Dans ce chapitre, Richard Karban s'intéresse à la capacité des plantes à se percevoir elles-mêmes et leur environnement, ainsi qu'à leur façon de réagir à ces informations. L'ensemble de ces signaux émis et reçus peuvent constituer ce que l'auteur, à l'appui de la linguistique, nomme un « langage ». Ce chapitre distingue deux sortes de communication, l'une pour la lumière et l'autre pour se défendre contre les risques d'attaques d'herbivores ou d'agents pathogènes. Cependant, l'existence singulière de la plante, qui, contrairement à l'animal, ne possède pas de système nerveux central, conduit à penser un style de communication différent de celui de l'animal.

G. H.

L’article se propose de faire le point sur la question de la structure matérielle de l’appareil perceptif chez Aristote. Deux thèses s’affrontent communément à ce sujet : la liaison entre les différents organes sensoriels et le centre de la perception (le cœur) est tantôt expliqué par le pneuma, tantôt par le sang. Rassemblant les différents passages qui, disséminés dans l’œuvre biologique d’Aristote, fournissent des indices sur ce point, Roreitner conclut que ni le sang ni le pneuma ne remplissent le rôle de substrat pour la transmission du mouvement perceptif à travers le corps — quoique l’un et l’autre puissent jouer un rôle indirect ou auxiliaire dans le processus. À défaut de trouver, chez Aristote lui-même, la formulation achevée de l’alternative à ces thèses, l’auteur propose de la repérer dans le De spiritu pseudo-aristotélicien : ce n’est finalement pas le contenu (sanguin ou pneumatique) des vaisseaux qui transmet le mouvement perceptif, mais la chair des vaisseaux eux-mêmes.

L. M.