Molyneux’s Problem (Forum for Philosophy)

William Molyneux posed the following question: Consider a person who has been born blind and who has learnt to distinguish a globe and a cube by touch. If this person could suddenly see, would they be able to distinguish these objects by sight alone? This seventeenth-century thought experiment, known as ‘Molyneux’s problem’, received attention from some of philosophy’s greatest minds. We discuss how thinkers like Locke and Leibniz, as well as artists with visual impairments, responded to Molyneux’s challenge.

Speakers

Marjolein Degenaar
Author, Molyneux’s Problem: Three Centuries of Discussion on the Perception of Form

Barry Ginley
Equality and Access Adviser, Victoria & Albert Museum

Brian Glenney
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Norwich University

Chair
Clare Moriarty
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Teaching Fellow in Philosophy, UCD

In association with the British Society for the History of Philosophy