The Given

Perceptual experiences seem to present, make manifest, or ‘give’ the world to us. Such experiences have ‘presentational phenomenology’, or ‘presentational feel’; they seem to offer ‘scene immediacy’ or ‘givenness in-the-flesh’. And perhaps perceptual experiences are not unique in this regard: similar expressions have been used to articulate, for instance, mathematical intuitions, and certain religious experiences. However, most attempts to characterize presentational phenomenology revolve around striking yet unexplained metaphors. The aim of this conference is to move beyond metaphor, exploring presentational phenomenology in a variety of different contexts and from a variety of different perspectives, including epistemology, philosophy of perception, philosophy of religion, psychopathology, and VR research.