On the Hypothetical Given. Experiences, Views, and Proofs

Anil Gupta’s Conscious Experience. A Logical Inquiry is an opus magnum. Its breadth and depth are unique in the extant philosophical literature on the nature and role of perception, the rationality of empirical reasoning, the nature of disagreement, empiricism, and the realist/anti-realist debate in the philosophy of science. There is also much to learn from it regarding key philosophical figures such as Russell and Sellars. Equally commendable are the style and clarity of the book. Here I will focus on two interconnected themes on which Gupta and I are in disagreement. Namely, the nature and role of experience in the hypothetical given, and the role of empirical dialectic and proofs.