Frank Jackson

Frank Jackson is a philosopher known for his work on the mind-body problem, particularly regarding consciousness and qualitative experiences, known as "qualia." He famously put forth the "knowledge argument," using the thought experiment of Mary, a color scientist who knows everything about color but has never seen it. When Mary sees color for the first time, she learns something new—suggesting that there are aspects of consciousness that cannot be fully explained by physical facts alone. This argument supports epiphenomenalism, the idea that mental states (like experiences) are real but do not affect physical outcomes, raising questions about mental causation.