The Knowledge Argument
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30
CORE DEFINITION
Similar to "Mary's Room", the argument demonstrates that even with all physical knowledge, one may still lack knowledge about conscious experience. Therefore, physicalism ("the world is entirely physical") is incomplete.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
Provides a core argument against physicalism. It suggests that subjective experience (qualia) may be non-physical or irreducible, thereby opening space for alternative worldviews such as dualism or panpsychism.
Anchor fast decisions
Jackson's "Mary's Room": Suppose scientist Mary knows all the physical facts about color vision but has never seen color; when she leaves the room and sees red for the first time, she learns "what it is like to see red"—knowledge beyond physical facts (qualia). Hence physicalism is incomplete.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/2Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_argumentverified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS