Can Empirical Effects Extend the Reach of Perceptual Content?

Smortchkova, Joulia

In the debate about the reach of perceptual content, some philosophers have appealed to empirical effects as a test for the existence of high-level perception (HLP). Among these effects, perceptual adaptation and perceptual learning have played a major role. In this paper, I will discuss two skeptical challenges to relying on these effects as tests for HLP. The first challenge interrogates their nature as a perceptual process. The second challenge raises doubts regarding their usefulness in specifying the target high-level property.

The debate about the reach of perceptual content focuses on the issue of which properties can be perceived. Let me illustrate it with an example. I look at an apple. Do I only see its roundness and redness, or do I also see the property “being an apple”? I pick up the phone to comfort a crying friend. Do I only hear the pitch and timbre of her voice, or do I also hear the sadness it expresses? In this debate, perceptual content is usually understood in terms of a subject’s conscious experience. Hence, a more precise way of formulating the central issue in the debate is as follows: which properties can a subject…

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