The Argument From Revelation and the Metaphysics of Properties

ABSTRACT Arguments from revelation against physicalism appeal to the special knowledge of phenomenal properties which one can have on the basis of having experiences. In a nutshell, the idea is that by having experiences one can come to know the nature or essence of certain phenomenal properties and thereby learn that they are not physical. This argument is intuitively appealing, but a proper defense of it against physicalist objections requires exploring the metaphysics of properties in more detail. I shall focus on one physicalist response, Dual Carving, which rests on the idea that there can be distinct concepts each of which reveals the essence of a property. I shall appeal to the essential connection between properties and similarities in specific respects, and to the difference between phenomenal and non‐phenomenal similarities, to undermine this response to arguments from revelation.