A Puzzle About Perceptual Knowledge

Abstract This chapter introduces a puzzle about perceptual knowledge. It is based on an example in which you perceptually experience a rich array of objects and properties in a crowded restaurant. The puzzle takes the form of an inconsistent triad of claims about this example: First, you know certain highly specific, fine-grained details of your surroundings. Second, you do not have beliefs concerning all of these details. Third, knowledge requires belief. These claims are all plausible, but they are inconsistent, so they cannot all be true. One of them must be rejected. This chapter argues that the best option is to reject the third claim—that is, that knowledge requires belief. It argues that some knowledge is constituted not by beliefs in propositions but by conscious awareness of properties and objects.