El ciego de Molyneux

Un problema metafísico sobre interconexión sensorial

Abstract

In this article we refer to the problem posed to Locke to by the Irish scientist William Molyneux at the end of the 17th century, concerning a blind-born man who recovers vision as an adult. Classical and contemporary, empirist and rationalist theories concerning the relationship among the different sensorial fields-mainly sight and touch- are revised according to this principle. The contributions about it provided by the 18th century's French enlightened and some current well-known psychologists and neuropsychologists are properly analyzed here. The final goal of this paper is to outline the virtual fundamental of both a new sort of gnoseology and of metaphysics based on a volitive-tactile paradigm. Therefore the so-called "Critique of the tactile reason" is set up on these reflections.