Empiricism Again
Empiricism Again
This chapter addresses the question of empiricism through discussing Austin's theory of perception. A superficial reading of Sense and Sensibilia, Austin's least understood work, might lead one to believe that Austin defends a linguistic or language-based theory of perception. However, quite the opposite is true. Austin rejects the idea that our perception is dependent on language, but he does not say that perception is independent of language. On the contrary, these two opposing arguments share the same defect. First, they are typically philosophical arguments that not only neglect the ordinary use of language but even pervert it, and next, they rest on the same metaphysical presupposition that the relation between language and perception can be examined, evaluated, or discussed.
Keywords: empiricism, perception, metaphysical presupposition, language
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