Situated Qualia

A brief revisiting of the idea of 'situated knowledge' that I started on yesterday. I'm still trying to firm up my own understanding of it and here I'm trying to figure out how personal experience relates to situation and knowing. Maybe one paradigmatic example of situated knowledge would be the type of knowledge which is uniquely available to a single individual, perhaps knowledge (if that's the right word) which impacts upon their biology in a way which is impossible to share, such as an experience of pain. If I spill coffee in my lap then whilst I can communicate information about my experience and perhaps provoke empathy, do I have access to a unique 'fact' about this event which is uncommunicable? This is, I think, a version of the 'Mary's Room' problem in the philosophy of mind created by Frank Jackson, and concerns the relationship between 'qualia' or the subjective feeling of being, and the notion of 'knowledge' as distinct from this. Again I'm kind of stuck on the paradox of using spatial metaphors to try to evade situatedness.

Mary's Room problem here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%27s_room

Category:

Education

Tags:

• knowledge
• situated
• knowing
• epistemology
• philosophy
• of
• mind
• objectivity
• subjectivity
• mary's
• room
• Frank
• Jackson

[Russe11john]

imagine if u had 2 eyes. one eye was a sphere with the pupil on the outside. there is a layer of matter that u can see going over that eye. then your second eye is a sphere with the pupil on the inside and it sees all of the outside of the layer of matter, wile the inside eye is seeing all of the inside of the layer of matter. we cant imagine this cuz our visual knowledge is situated in just looking forward with 2 eyes and only seeing depth

[conferencereport]

I'm trying to picture what you describe here, but just can't get it, sorry. It sounds interesting though, would you mind expanding the description?

Fred

[dimecollector1]

It's Frank Jackson, who wrote, "Epiphenomenal Qualia"

[thedeeliciousplum]

p.s. I just needed to say that. Probably more for the need to just express.

[thedeeliciousplum]

hmmm...though, if I had the luxury of sitting beneath towering trees while sipping on a good wine with a small group of folkies, I can see myself thinking in such a pondering manner :D Yet, by simply reading a Krishnamurti book or two, by engaging in the very wonderful experience of living one's life...then, this can all be summed up into this: just be and do what you wish while being thoughtful of all of one's actions. :D best wishes.

[Russe11john]

well the point of it is that you would be able to see everything in your known existance. but u wouldnt be able to see ouside the outter eye. unless the outter eye was destroyed, there would be no way of proving any other existance and u would concider the universe finite. if the outter eye broke and u saw beyond, that would be a change in our situated knowlege. im not sure if this is what HE is taking about exactly though.

[GetDrunkAndWatch]

Your videos are very interesting. Subscribed.

[Russe11john]

welll maby u could "imagine" it idk, i dont fully understand it either