Frank Cameron Jackson is an Australian philosopher who focuses primarily on the "philosophy of mind". Jackson is most known for his argument against physicalism, and for a version of dualism called epiphenomenalism. Dualism is a theory in philosophy of mind that assumes that the mind and body are not identical - that mental phenomena, the inner workings of our mind, are separate from the physical body. Dualism is a Cartesian theory that is probably the most discussed response to the mind-body problem (the relationship between consciousness and brain). .
Physicalism, or materialism, as it is also known, is a theory that holds that everything that exists is a physical thing and no other kind of substance exists. Basically, everything we know to exist can be reduced to physical properties. The modest version of epiphenomenalism that Jackson uses to reject the materialist theory holds that certain mental states are non-physical, but these non-physical states existence is caused by physical events and never vice versa. This "knowledge argument"" is used by Jackson to prove that materialism is false by showing that even if one has all the physical information we can possibly have about bodily sensations and mental states, the materialist (physicalist) always leaves out qualia. Therefore, the physicalist theory is incomplete and therefore false. The goal of this essay is to reject Jackson's epiphenomenalist view by refuting Jackson's response to objections against his theory as propose a revised theory that is less polar.
Jackson uses a few examples to back his knowledge argument. In examining Jackson's experiments, they seem logical and persuasive to his argument, but there is an explanatory gaps in Jackson's responses to objections to his theory which I find troubling. Here we will examine two of his experiments that I find most convincing of his and respond to them. The first is a thought experiment (one that tests an hypothesis or theory that's purpose is for the subject to think through its consequences,) known as Mary's room.
