Extending the extended consciousness debate: perception, imagination, and the common kind assumption
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences April 9, 2021 J. Deery
Some philosophers argue that the sub-personal basis of perceptual experience can extend beyond the brain and body into the environment. Proponents of predictive processing counter that perception and imagination arise from the same internal mechanisms, so world-involvement is not essential for perception, supporting internalism. This article contends that the internalist argument relies on an implicit commitment to the common kind assumption—that perception and imagination are fundamentally the same kind of mental event—which does not follow from the predictive processing framework. Plausible alternative conceptions of the relationship exist that do not require internalist metaphysical conclusions. Therefore, internalists owe further clarification and argumentation to defend their position.