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February 27, 2007
Abstract online: "Taking Sellarsian Holism Seriously"
The APA has put the abstract for my upcoming Central Division conference presentation online:
This paper examines Daniel Bonevac's arguments against Wilfrid Sellars's critique of the 'Myth of the Given.' Bonevac argues that while Sellars's arguments do not generalize in a way that refutes 'entire framework of givenness,' rather than simply the sense data theorists Sellars originally targeted. Bonevac takes special issue with Sellars's arguments from holism, which he thinks result in absurdities. I argue that Sellars does not intend to establish the absurd conclusions Bonevac thinks he wishes to establish. Bonevac also thinks that even if Sellars’s arguments for holism are correct, they do not imply a rejection of the Myth. I argue, however, that Sellars's holism, understood in the proper way, does in fact bear on the truth of the Myth. If one wishes to de-mythologize the myth, one must come to terms with Sellars's holism.
Posted by Ben at February 27, 2007 10:12 PM