Kaplanianism

This paper introduces a novel perspective on the intricate interplay between the conscious and representational aspects of visual experience. This viewpoint diverges from traditional representationalism and internal physical state theories. I propose that to understand the conscious (phenomenal) properties of experience, one should consider drawing an analogy to Kaplan’s concept of the “character” of demonstratives. Kaplan describes “character” as a mathematical function that maps contexts to content. Similarly, in this analogy, the conscious character of visual experience is depicted as a pattern figure located in the middle level of the visual cortex. The most effective description of this pattern figure’s contribution to visual experience is as a mathematical function. This function maps specific experiential instances—occurring in the context of visual engagement with particular objects and their attributes—to singular contents. These contents are envisaged as sequences of those instances and their associated properties.