Jake Tangleroyal 'The realization of radically other minds' (Progress Review 3)

Subjective realism is the view that facts about other subjects hold independently of us or our ability to conceive of these facts. This claim has interesting implications for the extent of human knowledge including our knowledge about value. In my dissertation I examine these implications by considering (i) the thesis that minds are multiply realizable and (ii) the thesis that radically other minds exist. These and their negations yield a four-way distinction in contemporary approaches to the metaphysics of mind. Ultimately, I argue that despite their prevalence in discussions about other minds, we do not understand either thesis. The position I develop is sceptical, and I use it to attack the anti-natalists who arrogate to themselves value claims about other organisms’ experiences.