Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind
E621035
Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind is Wilfrid Sellars’s influential 1956 essay that critiques traditional empiricism and introduces the famous distinction between the “space of reasons” and the “space of causes” in theories of mind and knowledge.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T6830426 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind Context triple: [Wilfrid Sellars, notableWork, Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind]
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A.
Essays in Radical Empiricism
Essays in Radical Empiricism is a posthumously published collection of philosophical writings by William James that develops his influential doctrine of radical empiricism, emphasizing the primacy of experience and relations in understanding reality.
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B.
The Mind and Its Place in Nature
The Mind and Its Place in Nature is a 1925 philosophical work by C. D. Broad that systematically analyzes theories of mind–body relations and helped shape early 20th-century philosophy of mind.
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C.
The Concept of Mind
The Concept of Mind is a 1949 philosophical work by Gilbert Ryle that critiques Cartesian dualism and introduces the idea of mental concepts as dispositions rather than inner ghostly states.
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D.
The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge
The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge is a 1940 philosophical work by A. J. Ayer that defends logical empiricism by critically examining sense-data theories and the justification of empirical beliefs.
-
E.
Phenomenology of Mind
Phenomenology of Mind is the English title of G. W. F. Hegel’s seminal philosophical work that traces the development of human consciousness, self-awareness, and reason toward absolute knowledge.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind Target entity description: Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind is Wilfrid Sellars’s influential 1956 essay that critiques traditional empiricism and introduces the famous distinction between the “space of reasons” and the “space of causes” in theories of mind and knowledge.
-
A.
Essays in Radical Empiricism
Essays in Radical Empiricism is a posthumously published collection of philosophical writings by William James that develops his influential doctrine of radical empiricism, emphasizing the primacy of experience and relations in understanding reality.
-
B.
The Mind and Its Place in Nature
The Mind and Its Place in Nature is a 1925 philosophical work by C. D. Broad that systematically analyzes theories of mind–body relations and helped shape early 20th-century philosophy of mind.
-
C.
The Concept of Mind
The Concept of Mind is a 1949 philosophical work by Gilbert Ryle that critiques Cartesian dualism and introduces the idea of mental concepts as dispositions rather than inner ghostly states.
-
D.
The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge
The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge is a 1940 philosophical work by A. J. Ayer that defends logical empiricism by critically examining sense-data theories and the justification of empirical beliefs.
-
E.
Phenomenology of Mind
Phenomenology of Mind is the English title of G. W. F. Hegel’s seminal philosophical work that traces the development of human consciousness, self-awareness, and reason toward absolute knowledge.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
philosophical essay
ⓘ
work of analytic philosophy ⓘ |
| addresses |
the justification of empirical beliefs
ⓘ
the nature of observation reports ⓘ the relation between perception and judgment ⓘ the role of language in thought ⓘ |
| argues |
that all awareness is a linguistic affair
ⓘ
that empirical knowledge is conceptually articulated ⓘ that justification belongs to the space of reasons ⓘ |
| arguesAgainst | foundationalism based on non-conceptual givens ⓘ |
| author | Wilfrid Sellars NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centralThesis |
mental states are to be understood in terms of their role in a normative space of reasons
ⓘ
there is no non-inferential, non-conceptual given that can serve as the foundation of knowledge ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| critiques |
sense-datum theory
ⓘ
the Myth of the Given NERFINISHED ⓘ traditional empiricism ⓘ |
| distinguishes | space of reasons from space of causes ⓘ |
| formulates | Myth of the Given NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre | academic philosophy article ⓘ |
| hasPart |
discussion of language learning and concept acquisition
ⓘ
discussion of sense impressions ⓘ section on the Myth of the Given ⓘ section on the space of reasons and space of causes ⓘ |
| hasReprint |
1997 Harvard University Press edition with introduction by Richard Rorty
ⓘ
2007 Harvard University Press edition edited by Willem deVries ⓘ |
| influenced |
John McDowell
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Robert Brandom NERFINISHED ⓘ contemporary epistemology ⓘ contemporary philosophy of mind ⓘ pragmatist inferentialism ⓘ |
| introducesConcept |
space of causes
ⓘ
space of reasons ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| mainTopic |
conceptual content of experience
ⓘ
critique of empiricism ⓘ epistemology ⓘ philosophy of mind ⓘ space of causes ⓘ space of reasons ⓘ the given in experience ⓘ theory of perception ⓘ |
| notableFor |
formulating the Myth of the Given critique
ⓘ
introducing the space of reasons vs space of causes distinction ⓘ its impact on postwar analytic philosophy ⓘ |
| philosophicalTradition | analytic philosophy ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1956 ⓘ |
| publishedIn | Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science NERFINISHED ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
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Instruction
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Input
Subject: Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind Description of subject: Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind is Wilfrid Sellars’s influential 1956 essay that critiques traditional empiricism and introduces the famous distinction between the “space of reasons” and the “space of causes” in theories of mind and knowledge.
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.