There must be encapsulated nonconceptual content in vision
In this paper I want to propose an argument to support Jerry Fodor's thesis (Fodor 1983) that input systems are modular and thus informationally encapsulated. The argument starts with the suggestion that there is a "grounding problem" in perception, i. e. that there is a problem in explaining how perception that can yield a visual experience is possible, how sensation can become meaningful perception of something for the subject. Given that visual experience is actually possible, this invites a transcendental argument that explains the conditions of its possibility. I propose that one of these conditions is the existence of a visual module in Fodor's sense that allows the step from sensation to object-identifying perception, thus enabling visual experience. It seems to follow that there is informationally encapsulated nonconceptual content in visual perception.
Authors
- Vincent C. Müller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4144-4957)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ArXiv.org
- Published
- 2025-03-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2503.15538
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Type
- article