Mary Jackson The Knowledge Argument

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Qualia are perceptual subjective experiences that vary widely in character, such as touching sandpaper or seeing the color blue. Jackson’s “The Knowledge Argument” about qualia challenges physicalism by arguing that these conscious and unique experiences have non-physical features. His example of Mary the Scientist refutes the statement that everything is just physical, nothing more. Prior to Mary’s release she knew everything physical about color, but when she was released she learned about other people’s color experience. She has important discoveries of seeing the flowers being red and grass being green, which she did not seem to know before. A physicalist would believe that experiencing red is one and the same as some certain physical