Seeing and Knowing

by Fred I. Dretske

In SEEING AND KNOWING Fred I. Dretske presents a philosophical analysis of visual perception. He is primarily concerned with the epistemological aspects of whit it means to see something; how this capacity is related to our knowledge about the things we see; and how the language we use to describe these things reveals and in many important respects conceals the nature of our visual perceptions.

Genres: Philosophy

Paperback

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

Frederick Irwin Dretske is a philosopher noted for his contributions to epistemology and the philosophy of mind. Recent work centers on conscious experience and self-knowledge. He was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize in 1994. Dretske received his Ph.D from The University of Minnesota and taught for a number of years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before moving to Stanford University. After retiring from Stanford, he moved to Duke University where he is now research professor of Philosophy.
Dretske holds externalist views about the mind, and thus he tries in various writings to show that by means of mere introspection one actually learns about his own mind less than might be expected.