Papers in English by Eros Carvalho
Perspectiva Filosófica , 2022
In this paper, I explore and examine different ways in which affectivity is related to perception... more In this paper, I explore and examine different ways in which affectivity is related to perception within ecological psychology. I assess whether some of those ways compromise the realist and direct aspects of traditional ecological perception. I sustain that they don't. Affectivity, at least in some cases, turns the perception of fine-grained affordances possible. For an engaged perceiver, affectivity is not optional.
Sképsis, 2022
In this paper, I argue that hinge propositions are ways of acting that constitute abilities or sk... more In this paper, I argue that hinge propositions are ways of acting that constitute abilities or skills. My starting point is Moyal-Sharrock's account of hinge propositions. However, Moyal-Sharrock's account leaves gaps to be filled, as it does not offer a unified explanation of the origin of our ungrounded grounds. Her account also lacks resources to respond to the issue of demarcation, since it does not provide a criterion for distinguishing ways of acting that can legitimately fulfill the role of ungrounded grounds from those that cannot. Without an answer to this issue, the relativistic threat is serious. I then propose that by narrowing the ways of acting to those that are constitutive of abilities, we can deal with the relativistic threat. I provide an ecological approach to abilities through which I explain why abilities are reality-soaked and therefore why the ways of acting that constitute them are legitimate ungrounded grounds. Based on that approach, I provide an answer to the issue of demarcation that defuses the relativistic threat.
Synthese, Special Issue Radical Views on Cognition, 2021
In this paper I claim that perceptual discriminatory skills rely on a suitable type of environmen... more In this paper I claim that perceptual discriminatory skills rely on a suitable type of environment as an enabling condition for their exercise. This is because of the constitutive connection between environment and perceptual discriminatory skills, inasmuch as such connection is construed from an ecological approach. The exercise of a discriminatory skill yields knowledge of affordances of objects, properties, or events in the surrounding environment. This is practical knowledge in the first-person perspective. An organism learns to perceive an object by becoming sensitized to its affordances. I call this position ecological disjunctivism. A corollary of this position is that a case of perception and its corresponding case of hallucination-which is similar to the former only in some respects-are different in nature. I show then how the distinguishability problem is addressed by ecological disjunctivism.
Revista Filosofia Unisinos, 2021
The authors of *Linguistic Bodies* appeal to shared know-how to explain the social and participat... more The authors of *Linguistic Bodies* appeal to shared know-how to explain the social and participatory interactions upon which linguistic skills and agency rest. However, some issues lurk around the notion of shared know-how and require attention and clarification. In particular, one issue concerns the agent behind the shared know-how, a second one concerns whether shared know-how can be reducible to individual know-how or not. In this paper, I sustain that there is no single answer to the first issue; depending on the case, shared know-how can belong to the participants of a social activity or to the system the participants bring forth together. In relation to the second issue, I sustain, following the authors, a non-reductive account of shared know-how. I also suggest that responsiveness to others, which is a fundamental element of shared know-how, can be extended by perceptual learning.
Trans/Form/Ação, 2021
This is a short commentary on Rodríguez's wonderful paper “Nonconceptualism and content independe... more This is a short commentary on Rodríguez's wonderful paper “Nonconceptualism and content independence”. Trans/Form/Ação: revista de filosofia da Unesp, vol. 44, n. 2, 2021, p. 325 –340.
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior, 2020
A short entry on Social Affordances. Social affordances are possibilities for social interaction ... more A short entry on Social Affordances. Social affordances are possibilities for social interaction or possibilities for action that are shaped by social practices and norms.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2020
Information is a central notion for cognitive sciences and neurosciences, but there is no agreeme... more Information is a central notion for cognitive sciences and neurosciences, but there is no agreement on what it means for a cognitive system to acquire information about its surroundings. In this paper, we approximate three influential views on information: the one at play in ecological psychology, which is sometimes called information for action; the notion of information as covariance as developed by some enactivists, and the idea of information as a minimization of uncertainty as presented by Shannon. Our main thesis is that information for action can be construed as covariant information, and that learning to perceive covariant information is a matter of minimizing uncertainty through skilled performance. We argue that the agent's cognitive system conveys information for acting in an environment by minimizing uncertainty about how to achieve intended goals in that environment. We conclude by reviewing empirical findings that support our view by showing how direct learning, seen as an instance of ecological rationality at work, is how mere possibilities for action are turned into embodied know-how. Finally, we indicate the affinity between direct learning and sense-making activity.
Published in "Automata's Inner Movie: Science and Philosophy of Mind" (ed. Steven S. Gouveia & Manuel Curado). Delaware: Vernon Press, 2019
The extended mind thesis claims that at least some cognitive processes extend beyond the organism... more The extended mind thesis claims that at least some cognitive processes extend beyond the organism’s brain in that they are constituted by the organism’s actions on its surrounding environment. A more radical move would be to claim that social actions performed by the organism could at least constitute some of its mental processes. This can be called the socially extended mind thesis. Based on the notion of affordance as developed in the ecological psychology tradition, I defend the view that perception extends to the environment. Then I will expand the notion of affordance to encompass social affordances. Thus, perception can in some situations also be socially extended.
Sképsis, 2019
This is a critical commentary on Pritchard's book Epistemic Angst. In Section 2, I present the cl... more This is a critical commentary on Pritchard's book Epistemic Angst. In Section 2, I present the closure-based radical skeptical paradox. Then in Section 3, I sketch Pritchard’s undercutting response to this paradox. Finally, in Section 4, I put forward two concerns about Pritchard’s response and I also propose a reading of hinge commitments, the ability reading, that might put some pressure on Pritchard’s own reading of these commitments.
Logos & Episteme: An International Journal of Epistemology, 2018
In this paper I defend a unified approach to knowledge and understanding. Both are achievements d... more In this paper I defend a unified approach to knowledge and understanding. Both are achievements due to cognitive abilities or skills. The difference between them is a difference of aspects. Knowledge emphasizes the successful aspect of an achievement and the exclusion of epistemic luck, whereas understanding emphasizes the agent's contribution in bringing about an achievement through the exercise of one's cognitive skills. Knowledge and understanding cannot be separated. I argue against the claim that understanding is distinct from knowledge because the former is compatible with environmental luck. Achievements rule out environmental luck because abilities can be exercised only in their proper environment. I also reject the intellectualist claim that understanding requires the ability to explain what one intends to understand. The understanding of an item is reflected in our ability to solve cognitive tasks using that item. The more tasks one can deal with by using an item, the deeper is one's understanding of that item. Being able to explain why a claim holds is not necessary for possessing understanding, even though it may be necessary for accomplishing some very specific tasks. Neither understanding nor knowledge require any kind of second-order cognition by default.
Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, 2016
In this paper, I defend an account of how perceptual experience can bear rational relation to our... more In this paper, I defend an account of how perceptual experience can bear rational relation to our empirical thought. In the first part, I elaborate two claims that are central for the justificational role of perceptual experience, namely, the claim that perception and belief share the same kind of content, and the claim that perception is independent from belief. At first sight, these claims seems not to be compatible, since the first one seems to require the truth of content conceptualism, while the second one seems to require its falsity. In the second part, based on Alva Noë's actionist theory of perception, I argue in favor of a less intellectualist interpretation of the first claim, uncommitted to content conceptualism, and then I show how it can be reconciled with the second claim. Finally, I explain how perception holds rational relationships with our empirical thought through the exercise of observational concepts. These concepts link what I propose to call 'space of actions' to the logical space of reasons.
Sképsis, 2016
Is ruling out the possibility that one is dreaming a requirement for a knowledge claim? In “Philo... more Is ruling out the possibility that one is dreaming a requirement for a knowledge claim? In “Philosophical Scepticism and Everyday Life” (1984), Barry Stroud defends that it is. In “Others Minds” (1970), John Austin says it is not. In his defense, Stroud appeals to a conception of objectivity deeply rooted in us and with which our concept of knowledge is intertwined. Austin appeals to a detailed account of our scientific and everyday practices of knowledge attribution. Stroud responds that what Austin says about those practices is correct in relation to the appropriateness of making knowledge claims, but that the skeptic is interested in the truth of those claims. In this paper, we argue that Stroud’s defense of the alleged requirement smuggles in a commitment to a kind of internalism, which asserts that the perceptual justification available to us can be characterized independently of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. In our reading of Austin, especially of Sense & Sensibilia, he rejects that kind of internalism by an implicit commitment to what is called today a “disjunctive” view of perception. Austin says that objectivity is an aspect of knowledge, and his disjunctivism is part of an explanation of why the alleged requirement is not necessary for a knowledge claim. Since both Stroud and Austin are committed to the objectivity of knowledge, Stroud may ask which view of perceptual knowledge is correct, whether the internalist or the disjunctive. We argue that by paying closer attention to what Austin says about our practices of knowledge attribution, one can see more clearly that it is grounded not only on a conception of objectivity, but also on a conception of ourselves as information agents, a conception that is as deeply rooted as that of the objectivity of knowledge. This gives us moral and practical reasons to favor the disjunctive view of perception.
Analytica, 2015
Our goal in this paper is to discuss the notion of animal knowledge in Judgment and Agency. Our a... more Our goal in this paper is to discuss the notion of animal knowledge in Judgment and Agency. Our approach has two stages. First, we offer a positive contribution, attempting to show that there is room for the introduction of emotions into an animal knowledge approach and into Sosa’s theory of competence. If we follow Sosa and conceive knowledge as a kind of action or successful performance, then emotions can contribute functionally for enhancing performance and are essential for the sharing of knowledge among social agents. Second, we offer criticism of Sosa’s integrative project. It’s not clear that reflective knowledge always improves animal knowledge; rather, in order to avoid regress, Sosa should recognize that we can have perfectly safe animal knowledge. Finally, we argue that reflective knowledge has a more marginal role than Sosa seems at first sight to suggest.
In June 2015, under the auspices of the Postgraduate Program in Philosophy at the Federal Univers... more In June 2015, under the auspices of the Postgraduate Program in Philosophy at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and the Teaching, Philosophy and History of Science Program at UFBA/State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS), with financial support from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES – PAEP 2012, process number 342229) and coordinated by both the Grupo de Investigações Filosóficas (CNPq) and the Skepticism Working Group (GT-Ceticismo) of the National Association of Postgraduate Studies in Philosophy (ANPOF), a group of Brazilian philosophers met in the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil in order to converse with Professor Ernest Sosa about his book Judgment and Agency. This book symposium brings together contributions from the participants at this meeting.
Acta Analytica, 2011
In this paper we advocate the thesis that qualia are tropes (or qualitons), and not (universal) p... more In this paper we advocate the thesis that qualia are tropes (or qualitons), and not (universal) properties. The main advantage of the thesis is that we can accept both the Wittgensteinian and Sellarsian assault on the given and the claim that only subjective and private states can do justice to the qualitative character of experience. We hint that if we take qualia to be tropes, we dissolve the problem of inverted qualia. We develop an account of sensory concept acquisition that takes the presence of qualia as an enabling condition for learning. We argue that qualia taken to be qualitons are part of our mechanism of sensory concept acquisition.
Acta Analytica
In this paper we advocate the thesis that qualia are tropes (or qualitons), and not (universal) p... more In this paper we advocate the thesis that qualia are tropes (or qualitons), and not (universal) properties. The main advantage of the thesis is that we can accept both the Wittgensteinian and Sellarsian assault on the given and the claim that only subjective and private states can do justice to the qualitative character of experience. We hint that if we take qualia to be tropes, we dissolve the problem of inverted qualia. We develop an account of sensory concept acquisition that takes the presence of qualia as an enabling condition for learning. We argue that qualia taken to be qualitons are part of our mechanism of sensory concept acquisition.
From the ALWS archives: A selection of papers from the International Wittgenstein Symposia in Kirchberg am Wechsel, Oct 2012
In this paper we put forward the thesis that qualia are tropes (or qualitons), and not (universal... more In this paper we put forward the thesis that qualia are tropes (or qualitons), and not (universal) properties. Further, we maintain that Wittgenstein hints in this direction. We also find in Wittgenstein elements of an account of language acquisition that takes the presence of qualia as an enabling condition. We conclude by pointing out some difficulties of this view.
Papers in Portuguese by Eros Carvalho
O que nos faz pensar, 2024
Aplicações e dispositivos de inteligência artificial são cada vez mais comuns na área da saúde. R... more Aplicações e dispositivos de inteligência artificial são cada vez mais comuns na área da saúde. Robôs que cumpram algumas funções de cuidado não são um futuro distante. Neste cenário, temos de nos perguntar se é possível haver máquinas capazes de cuidar a ponto de substituírem completamente o cuidado humano e se essa substituição, em sendo possível, é desejável. Neste artigo, argumento que o cuidado requer saberes-fazeres permeados por afetividade que estão longe de serem realizados pelas máquinas atualmente disponíveis. Sustento também que a substituição completa do cuidado realizado por humanos por cuidado realizado por máquinas não é desejável porque o cuidado requer conexão humana real.
Meurer, C. (ed.). Ciência: epistemologia e ensino. Editora do PPGFIL da UFFRJ. , 2024
A ideia de que a ciência — ou ao menos as atividades científicas que são consideradas as mais ess... more A ideia de que a ciência — ou ao menos as atividades científicas que são consideradas as mais essenciais para a ciência — deve ser livre de valores é bastante difundida. Neste capítulo, vou discutir essa tese, normalmente entendida como um ideal de ciência. Na primeira seção, introduzo alguns conceitos e distinções que são importantes para entender essa tese, como a diferença entre valores cognitivos e não-cognitivos. Na segunda seção, discuto o papel dos valores na seleção de problemas e na metodologia científica. Na terceira seção, apresento dois argumentos canônicos contra o ideal da ciência como livre de valores: o argumento da lacuna explicativa, de Helen Longino (1990), e o argumento do risco indutivo, de Heather Douglas (2009). Na quarta seção, discuto algumas respostas a esses argumentos. Por fim, na última seção, a partir da abordagem ecológica, exploro e sustendo a ideia de que a reconcepção da ciência como uma atividade social situada e adaptativa supera a dicotomia entre fato e valor que subjaz a discussão. Essa nova concepção de ciência nos permite acomodar melhor os resultados dos argumentos apresentados na terceira seção.
Principia: an international journal of epistemology, 2023
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Papers in English by Eros Carvalho
Papers in Portuguese by Eros Carvalho
Há pelo menos três modos pelos quais o debate sobre a conduta doxástica se relaciona com a ética. O primeiro e menos contencioso assinala que o ato de crer, analogamente às ações morais, responde a um tipo de normatividade, não necessariamente moral. Por exemplo, as normas para o ato de crer podem ser puramente epistêmicas. Nesse caso, essas normas diriam respeito a como o agente deve visar ou buscar a verdade. O segundo modo como o debate da ética da crença se relaciona com a ética diz respeito à fundamentação das normas para crer. A ideia é que a adoção dessas normas se fundamenta com base em razões morais e sociais. Por fim, o modo mais substancial consiste em sustentar que o ato de crer, ao menos em alguns casos, é em parte um fenômeno essencialmente moral e que, portanto, razões morais incidem diretamente sobre a legitimidade da crença. Por razões morais, alguém poderia ser recriminado por sustentar uma crença ainda que tivesse evidência favorável para ela. Neste verbete, tangenciando o clássico debate entre Clifford e William James e reações mais contemporâneas ao debate, apresentaremos e discutiremos cada um desses aspectos da ética da crença.
Tomamos como certo que os nossos sentidos nos colocam em contato com o ambiente ao nosso redor. Enquanto caminhamos em uma rua, vemos obstáculos que temos de contornar ou remover. Mesmo de costas, podemos ouvir a bicicleta que se aproxima e dar passagem. Em suma, por meio de experiências perceptivas (visuais, auditivas, olfativas etc.), ficamos conscientes de objetos ou eventos que estejam ocorrendo ao nosso redor. Além disso, com base no que percebemos, podemos formar e manter crenças acerca do ambiente e, assim, adquirir conhecimento perceptivo acerca do mundo. A importância desse conhecimento acerca do que está ao nosso alcance perceptivo é inestimável para a nossa sobrevivência e a condução de nossos projetos cotidianos. Contudo, podemos querer saber (1) se de fato temos acesso ao mundo físico circundante por meio das nossas experiências perceptivas, e (2) se e como essas experiências justificam as nossas crenças acerca do que percebemos. Esses problemas são centrais para a epistemologia da percepção, embora não sejam os únicos. Nessa entrada, abordaremos esses dois problemas.
Neste texto, apresento e examino as principais ideias que animam a abordagem ecológica da percepção. Primeiro, na Seção 2, apresento a visão instantânea da percepção, contra a qual Gibson articula e propõe a abordagem ecológica. Em seguida, não Seção 3, apresento e discuto a noção de informação ecológica. Nas seções 4 e 5 articulo a teoria das affordances e discuto a aprendizagem perceptiva. Por fim, na Seção 6, exponho e discuto a possibilidade de estender a teoria das affordances para explicar a cognição social.
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Neste capítulo, apresento e sustento uma articulação da noção de habilidade corporal ou sensoriomotora a partir da psicologia ecológica e mostro como ela é relevante para o debate entre Dreyfus e McDowell sobre a lida habilidosa e também para o debate sobre se saber-fazer se reduz ou não a conhecimento proposicional. A metáfora correta para compreender habilidades corporais não é a do computador, mas a do rádio. Essas habilidades resultam de um processo de sintonização do organismo com o seu ambiente.
que o empirismo assume uma tríade de teses inconsistentes. Reformularei estas teses em conformidade com a abordagem defendida e concluirei que a presente versão do empirismo
está isenta das críticas de Sellars.
No imaginário ocidental, o planeta Terra é compreendido como um aglomerado de recursos disponíveis ao ser humano. O antropocentrismo que nos marca coloca o ser humano no centro e subordina todo o resto a ele. Apenas o ser humano tem valor intrínseco, apenas ele emana a luz da significância. A Terra, as coisas e os animais não-humanos só têm valor por causa de nós, conforme os incorporamos nas engrenagens do nosso modo de vida e os tornamos úteis para nós.
A entrevista foi publicada aqui: https://www.ufrgs.br/ifch/index.php/br/ifch-pesquisadores-o-conhecimento-e-uma-conquista-social-conta-o-professor-eros-carvalho
Livro completo: https://www.editorafi.org/107proceedings
não são incorrigíveis. "
[In this course, we will approach issues pertinent to the philosophy of cognitive sciences, special attention will be given to the enactive-ecological research program. We will not only study how enactivism approaches basic cognitions such as perceptions and emotions but also how enactivism faces the difficulty of being scaled up to explain higher cognitions such as language and rationality. Along this course, we will assess the fruitfulness of the concept of skill or ability for understanding and explaining these cognitive phenomena.]
O programa atualizado também pode ser acessado aqui: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tDvg3w69f_SEkl1iK7QNDuDfot8yyPWChRX-2trm5qY/edit?usp=sharing