There's Something about Mary: Essays on Phenomenal Consciousness and Frank Jackson's Knowledge Argument

In Frank Jackson's famous thought experiment, Mary is confined to a black-and-whiteroom and educated through black-and-white books and lectures on a black-and-white television. Inthis way, she learns everything there is to know about the physical world. If physicalism -- thedoctrine that everything is physical -- is true, then Mary seems to know all there is to know. Whathappens, then, when she emerges from her black-and-white room and sees the color red for the firsttime? Jackson's knowledge argument says that Mary comes to know a new fact about color, and that,therefore, physicalism is false. The knowledge argument remains one of the most controversial andimportant arguments in contemporary philosophy.There's Something About Mary -- the first bookdevoted solely to the argument -- collects the main essays in which Jackson presents (and laterrejects) his argument along with key responses by other philosophers. These responses are organizedaround a series of questions: Does Mary learn anything new? Does she gain only know-how (the abilityhypothesis), or merely get acquainted with something she knew previously (the acquaintancehypothesis)? Does she learn a genuinely new fact or an old fact in disguise? And finally, does shereally know all the physical facts before her release, or is this a "misdescription"? The argumentspresented in this comprehensive collection have important implications for the philosophy of mindand the study of consciousness.