The Notion of Constitution in the Analysis of Perceptual Experience

Abstract

 In this paper I try to explain what the problem of constitution in the framework of perceptual experience consists in, and also to argue that this problem continues to be in force. Through three key philosophers —Husserl, Cassirer, and Carnap—it is shown how the problem, which has Kantian roots, has been treated in the main philosophical traditions of the twentieth century, and furthermore, how the Husserlian approach sets up a new scenario. Although at the present time the term ‘constitution’ has practically disappeared from the philosophical scene, on the basis of the interpretative clues here offered I try to show that this fact does not mean that the alluded problem does not continue to be a significant subject in the study of perception and the mind.