The Role of Concepts in Perceptual Objectivity
Bill Brewer
Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology June 12, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/00071773.2026.2684317 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Objectivity philosophy Perception Argument complex analysis Epistemology |
| Key points | Argues that Conceptualism, the view that concepts applied in perception affect understanding of objectivity, is mistaken, and offers an Anti-Conceptualist alternative. |
Abstract
Does our application of concepts in perception have a role in our understanding of the objectivity of what we perceive? I clarify a specific version of this question and present an argument for an affirmative answer: Conceptualism. I develop an objection to the resulting position drawing on Mackie's discussion in “Perception, Mind-Independence, and Berkeley”, offer an alternative Anti-Conceptualist account of perceptual objectivity, and explain where I think the argument for Conceptualism, and also Mackie's reaction to it, go wrong.
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