Ideas from 'Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind' by Wilfrid Sellars [1956], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind' by Sellars,Wilfrid [Harvard 2000,0-674-25155-5]].

green numbers give full details    |     back to texts     |     unexpand this idea


17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 7. Anti-Physicalism / a. Physicalism critique
The 'grain problem' says physical objects are granular, where sensations appear not to be
                        Full Idea: Sellars' Grain Problem contended that it was a problem for materialism that physical objects have a granularity whereas sensations are homogeneous and without grain.
                        From: report of Wilfrid Sellars (Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind [1956], Ch. n22) by Thomas W. Polger - Natural Minds Ch.1 n22
                        A reaction: This doesn't strike me as a serious problem. I assume that my sensations are granular, but at a level too fine for me to introspect. There are three hundred trillion connections in the brain (Idea 2952), a lot of them involved in sensations.