Wilfrid Sellars

Wilfrid Sellars Faculty Photo

Wilfrid Sellars (May 20, 1912 – July 2, 1989) was an American philosopher known for his comprehensive theories in the fields of epistemology and philosophy of mind, as well as his contributions to philosophy of science, ethics, and metaphysics. Sellars is best remembered for his critique of empiricism and his efforts to reconcile the scientific and manifest images of the world. His work has had a profound influence on contemporary analytic philosophy, particularly through his arguments against the given in epistemology and his defense of scientific realism.

Biography

Wilfrid Stalker Sellars was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Roy Wood Sellars, a prominent American philosopher of critical realism, which undoubtedly influenced his intellectual development. He studied at the University of Michigan, the University of Buffalo, and finally received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1947. Over his academic career, Sellars taught at several institutions, including the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota, Yale University, and the University of Pittsburgh, where he spent the latter part of his career.

Philosophical Work

Sellars's philosophical work is vast and varied, but he is most famous for his critique of the "myth of the given," a foundational concept in empiricist epistemology. He argued that all knowledge is mediated by conceptual frameworks, challenging the idea that there is a non-conceptual, immediate knowledge that serves as the foundation for all other knowledge.

The Scientific and Manifest Images

One of Sellars's most influential ideas is the distinction between the "scientific image" and the "manifest image" of the world. The manifest image is the world as human beings experience it, a world populated with colors, sounds, and other sensory items, along with commonsense objects such as tables and chairs. The scientific image, on the other hand, is the theoretical conception of the world as described by the sciences, populated with entities like electrons and quarks. Sellars argued that while these two images may seem in conflict, they are actually compatible and mutually enriching.

Ethics and the Moral Image

In addition to his work in epistemology and the philosophy of mind, Sellars made significant contributions to ethics. He proposed a synthesis of Kantian and empiricist elements in moral philosophy, emphasizing the role of principles in ethical reasoning while also acknowledging the importance of empirical knowledge in moral decision-making.

Influence and Legacy

Sellars's ideas have had a lasting impact on several areas of philosophy. His critique of empiricism and defense of scientific realism have influenced philosophers such as Richard Rorty, Robert Brandom, and John McDowell. His work on the interface between the scientific and manifest images continues to be a topic of discussion and debate in contemporary philosophy of mind and metaphysics.

Selected Works

• Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind (1956)
• Science, Perception and Reality (1963)
• Philosophical Perspectives: History of Philosophy (1967)
• Essays in Philosophy and Its History (1974)

See Also

• Philosophy of mind
• Epistemology
• Philosophy of science
• Metaphysics
• Ethics