The Priority Debate between Hyslop and Nagel: A Unificationist Reconciliation

Abstract

The Problem of Other Minds (POM), in philosophy, is the challenge of explaining the commonsense idea that others possess minds and are capable of thinking and feeling similar to oneself. The dilemma has been explored in the analytic (Anglo-American) and continental philosophical traditions. It has also been a point of contention in epistemology, logic, and philosophy of mind since the 20th century. Contemporary discourse on POM has been approached from different disciplinary perspectives. However, two of these perspectives, epistemological and conceptual, have been central. The trend of literature discussing POM has separated the two perspectives as though they are independent, without exploring the possibility of seeing them as two sides of the same coin. Using the positions of Alec Hyslop and Thomas Nagel as representative of epistemological and conceptual problems, respectively, this paper argues that a proper solution to POM lies in the ability of the proposed solution to see the two perspectives as two ways of solving a problem. Therefore, the POM must represent the unity of the two perspectives such that the solution simultaneously solves both challenges. This is the objective of this study.