DOCSLIB.ORG

Stace, Some Misinterpretations of Empiricism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Stace, Some Misinterpretations of Empiricism Mind Association Some Misinterpretations of Empiricism Author(s): W. T. Stace Source: Mind, Vol. 67, No. 268 (Oct., 1958), pp. 465-484 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Mind Association Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2251199 Accessed: 27-09-2018 16:54 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Mind Association, Oxford University Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Mind This content downloaded from 142.58.129.109 on Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:54:38 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms I1.-SOME MISINTERPRETATIONS OF EMPIRICISM 1 BY W. T. STACE THE empiricism of the present day is, of course, a very different thing from the empiricism of Hume's day. Apart from the development of a more precise terminology to replace IHume's rather loose language, a considerable extension in the doctrine -of empiricism itself occurred when the members of the Vienna Circle introduced the principle of verifiability. The change was great enough perhaps to divide the history of empiricism since Locke and Hume into two periods, which we may call respectivel.y classical empiricism and modern empiricism. Nevertheless a comnmon thread runs through both periods, namely the general principle of empiricism itself. Both the classical and the modern doctrines are versions of that. And I suggest that the essence of the change consisted in the extension of the principle of empiri- cism to a new area, not in a change of the principle itself.: The Newtonian law of gravitation was first discovered and applied in the case of the moon's revolution round the earth. Subsequently its application was extended to the whole solar system and then to the stellar universe. These subsequent extensions in the application of the law did not, of course, involve any change in the law itself. It remained the same identical law in a new application. I believe that in the same way the change from the classical to the modern type of empiricism consisted -in the application of the general principle of empiricism to a new area of discourse, not in any alteration of the principle itself. It also seems clear that the essence of this change lay in the fact that, whereas Ilume applied the e-mpiricist principle only to single words or terms, such as " red " "blue - "golden mountain ", "vwinged horse " " substance ", " force " ' causal power ", "necessity " "self ", "God ", and so on, the modern empiricists have attempted, by means. of their principle of verifiability, together with its more recent modifications, whether in terms of testability, confirmability, or some other related concept, to extend its application to whole sentences. Just as Hume said that, unless -the meaning of a word could be pointed out in 1 Being the first annual " Alfred North Whitehead " lecture delivered at Harvard University on 11th April, 1957. 30 465 This content downloaded from 142.58.129.109 on Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:54:38 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 466 W. T. STACE: experience, it was in fact devoid of meaning, so the modern empiricists affirmed that unless the significance of a sentence could be verified or tested or confirmed or in- some other-way checked in experience, it was in fact devoid of significance. Whether the attempt of the modern empiricists to extend the application of empiricism from words to sentences has been successful or not-which may be a matter of controversy-it will always remain to their credit that they were the first to realize the existence of a problem which the classical empiricism had altogether neglected, the problem of finding an empirical criterion for the significance of sentences. To discuss these matters is, hlowever, no part of the task which I have set myself in this lecture. Indeed I have only mentioned the difference between classical and modern empiricism in order to draw attention to their common element. They are both applications of emrppiricism. There must therefore be some quite general principle of empiri- cism which is basic to them both, and it is this, and some common misinterpretations of it, which I wish to discuss. Wlhat is this general principle of all empiricism ? If we go back to Hume, we find that his formulation of the empiricist principle contains two parts, one of which is psycho- logical, the other epistemological. The first or psychological part tells us that all " ideas "-to use Hume's own terms-are causally conditioned by " impressions ", that is to say, by experiential data of some kind. The second or epistemological part asserts that if a word is supposed to stand for an idea, then if the idea is a simple or unanalysable one it must be possible to specify the simple experiential datum to which it refers; or, if the idea is a complex one, it must be possible to subject it to a process of analysis the end-terms of which will be such experiential data. If the supposed idea, that is to say, the supposed meaning of the word, cannot be either referred to a simple datum, or analysed into its component data, then there is in fact no such idea; that is to say, the word which was supposed to stand for an idea fails to do so and is therefore meaningless. This second or epistemological part of Hume's principle performs two functions. First, it provides a technique for discriminating between meaningful and meaningless terms. " Show me the impression ", says Hume. If you can, then the word has passed the empirical test, and may be allowed to have meaning. If you cannot, then the word is meaningless. And secondly, this epistemological part of Hume's principle suggests a technique for answering the further questioni " What is the meaning of the word ? "-that is -to say, a technique of philo- This content downloaded from 142.58.129.109 on Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:54:38 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms SOME MISINTERPRETATIONS OF EMPIRICISM 467 sophical analysis. For instance, the complex idea of a " golden miountain " is analysable into the simple, or simpler, ideas of the experiential impressions of " gold " and " mountain ". No (loubt Hume's technique of analysis maybe elementary by modern standards, but it is genuine as far as it goes, and it may fairly be regarded as the starting point of the modern schools of philo- sophical analysis. Most modern analysts will say that the first part of fHume's principle is not philosophy at all. It is empirical psychology. It is a generalization about the way in which ideas are generated in our minds. It may perhaps embody, in a very loose way, a psychological truth, it will be said, but it is not philosophy. Only Hume's second or epistemological part, with its implied technique of conceptual analysis, can count as philosophy. Mv own opinion is that you can stipulate this, if you wish. You can do so because it is a matter of convention only where you place the boundaries between philosophy and science, or indeed between any one branch of intellectual enquiry and any other. But if you exclude Hume's psychological statement about the origin of ideas from his principle of empiricism, you have to pay a certain price for this philosophical chastity. For this psychological part functions as the logical basis or proof of the epistemological part. The epistemology is in Hume logically dependent on the psycho- logy. It is only because all ideas have been psychologicallv derived from impressions that it must always be possible to analyse them back into the impressions from which they came. The connection between the psycbological part and the epistemo- logical part is one of strict logical implication. For the proposi- tion " Prior impressions are a necessary causal condition of meanings "-which is the psychological part of Hume's principle -entails the proposition " If there are no impressions, then there can be no meanings "-which is the epistemological part. There- fore, if you exclude the psychological part from your formulation of the empiricist principle, you rob the principle of the basis of proof on which it depends; and in that case the principle can only justify itself on the ground that it is a convenient but freely stipulated definition -of meaning. That is the price you pay. Perhaps this is quite satisfactory to the empiricist philosopher, and gives him all he wants. But he must recognize that the logical status of his empiricism is then no more than that of an optional convention. Suppose that, for the moment at any rate, we provisionally accept this position, although I shall reconsider the question later. We now try to formulate that general principle of empiricism This content downloaded from 142.58.129.109 on Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:54:38 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 468 W. T. STACE: which is common both to the classical doctrine of Hume and to the modern empiricists. It will really, of course, be the same as Hume's principle except that we shall have to amend Hunie's formulation in two respects.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Curriculum Vitae
    BAS C. VAN FRAASSEN Curriculum Vitae Last updated 3/6/2019 I. Personal and Academic History .................................................................................................................... 1 List of Degrees Earned ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Title of Ph.D. Thesis ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 Positions held ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Invited lectures and lecture series ........................................................................................................................................ 1 List of Honors, Prizes ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Research Grants .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Non-Academic Publications ................................................................................................................................................ 5 II. Professional Activities .................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophical Analysis on the Nature and Forms of Information—From the Perspective of Marxist Philosophy †
    Proceedings Philosophical Analysis on the Nature and Forms of Information—From the Perspective of Marxist Philosophy † Mingfang Feng 1 and Liang Feng 2,* 1 School of Economics & Law, Shaanxi University of Technology, No.1, First Eastern Ring Road, Hanzhong 723001, China; [email protected] 2 School of Marxism Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No.28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an 710049, China * Correspondence: [email protected] † Presented at the IS4SI 2017 Summit DIGITALISATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY, Gothenburg, Sweden, 12–16 June 2017. Published: 8 June 2017 Abstract: The aim of this research essay attempt to reveal the nature of information form the perspective of Marxist Philosophy. The nature of Information is the first question that philosophy of information science and technology research must be answered, thus the problem is still debated. According to Marxist dialectical materialism method to the essence of information has made the analysis and argumentation, points out the essence of information between what is and its internal contact things, and this contact information is presented. Due to the connection between the protean and endless things, thus produce the endless, full of beautiful things in eyes, each are not identical information. To grasp the nature of information, must pay attention to and the specific form of information and information processing, the reorganization, transmission, storage, use and so on. Keywords: information; nature; connection; philosophy of information 1. Introduction The development of information science and technology has spar ked the nature of information exploration after World War II. The question that ‘What is the nature of information?’ is always unable to avoid in information science and philosophical technology research.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tyranny of Method: a Pragmatic Defense of Philosophical Pluralism
    THE TYRANNY OF METHOD: A PRAGMATIC DEFENSE OF PHILOSOPHICAL PLURALISM Vincent M. Colapietro Abstract: The history of philosophy is in no small measure a series of attempts to institute a fail-safe method. In response to what they take to be the scandal of disagreement (disagreement itself being judged as scandalous), a number of historically influential philosophers (e.g., Descartes, Peirce, Husserl, and Carnap) have time and again tried to craft a method for guaranteeing agreement. In light of the failure of these attempts, this tendency might be seen as remotely analogous to what is called in psychoanalytic parlance a “repetition compulsion.” In any event, historical reflections on this repeated tendency promise to be illuminating. But there is a polemical purpose animating these historical reflections. The author tries, in light of these reflections, to render plausible the suggestion that this tendency amounts to a tyranny of method and, in turn, such tyranny results in an inevitable impoverishment of philosophical thought. THE TOPIC of my essay is best brought into focus by recalling a central figure in the history of Western philosophy. 1 This recollection is, however, far from methodologically innocent. My deliberate turn toward a pivotal moment in our intellectual history – in brief, my turn toward history – will provide the basis for my critique of what I am disposed to identify as the tyranny of method. This tyranny is not so much exercised by any particular method as by the repeated impulse to institute a philosophical method of allegedly revolutionary significance. Most often, this impulse is bound up with the hope that philosophy can transform itself into a science (an unquestionable form of certain knowledge) either by adopting the method of science itself (e.g., the efforts of C.
    [Show full text]
  • Plato's Symposium: the Ethics of Desire
    Plato’s Symposium: The Ethics of Desire FRISBEE C. C. SHEFFIELD 1 Contents Introduction 1 1. Ero¯s and the Good Life 8 2. Socrates’ Speech: The Nature of Ero¯s 40 3. Socrates’ Speech: The Aim of Ero¯s 75 4. Socrates’ Speech: The Activity of Ero¯s 112 5. Socrates’ Speech: Concern for Others? 154 6. ‘Nothing to do with Human AVairs?’: Alcibiades’ Response to Socrates 183 7. Shadow Lovers: The Symposiasts and Socrates 207 Conclusion 225 Appendix : Socratic Psychology or Tripartition in the Symposium? 227 References 240 Index 249 Introduction In the Symposium Plato invites us to imagine the following scene: A pair of lovers are locked in an embrace and Hephaestus stands over them with his mending tools asking: ‘What is it that you human beings really want from each other?’ The lovers are puzzled, and he asks them again: ‘Is this your heart’s desire, for the two of you to become parts of the same whole, and never to separate, day or night? If that is your desire, I’d like to weld you together and join you into something whole, so that the two of you are made into one. Look at your love and see if this is what you desire: wouldn’t this be all that you want?’ No one, apparently, would think that mere sex is the reason each lover takes such deep joy in being with the other. The soul of each lover apparently longs for something else, but cannot say what it is. The beloved holds out the promise of something beyond itself, but that something lovers are unable to name.1 Hephaestus’ question is a pressing one.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is a Philosophical Analysis?
    JEFFREY C. KING WHAT IS A PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS? (Received 24 January 1996) It is common for philosophers to offer philosophical accounts or analyses, as they are sometimes called, of knowledge, autonomy, representation, (moral) goodness, reference, and even modesty.1 These philosophical analyses raise deep questions. What is it that is being analyzed (i.e. what sorts of things are the objects of analysis)? What sort of thing is the analysis itself (a proposition? sentence?)? Under what conditions is an analysis correct? How can a correct analysis be informative? How, if at all, does the production of philo- sophical analyses differ from what scientists do? The purpose of the present paper is to provide answers to these questions. The traditional answers to the ®rst and last of these questions are that concepts are the objects of philosophical analysis and that philo- sophical analyses differ from the results of scienti®c investigation in being conceptual analyses. Like many philosophers I am suspicious of the notions of concept and conceptual analysis as traditionally understood. Though the critique of these notions is beyond the scope of the present work, the answers I shall give to the questions raised above shall not invoke concepts (understood as things distinct from properties).2 I count it as a virtue of my account that it is able to provide answers to the questions raised above without an appeal to concepts. And to the extent that it has been felt that concepts are needed to answer these questions, the present account weakens the case for positing concepts. Before addressing these questions, however, we shall make the simplifying assumption that analyses are given in a ªcanonical formº.
    [Show full text]
  • The Theory of Descriptions 1. Bertrand Russell (1872-1970): Mathematician, Logician, and Philosopher
    Louis deRosset { Spring 2019 Russell: The Theory of Descriptions 1. Bertrand Russell (1872-1970): mathematician, logician, and philosopher. He's one of the founders of analytic philosophy. \On Denoting" is a founding document of analytic philosophy. It is a paradigm of philosophical analysis. An analysis of a concept/phenomenon c: a recipe for eliminating c-vocabulary from our theories which still captures all of the facts the c-vocabulary targets. FOR EXAMPLE: \The Name View Analysis of Identity." 2. Russell's target: Denoting Phrases By a \denoting phrase" I mean a phrase such as any one of the following: a man, some man, any man, every man, all men, the present King of England, the present King of France, the centre of mass of the Solar System at the first instant of the twentieth century, the revolution of the earth round the sun, the revolution of the sun round the earth. (479) Includes: • universals: \all F 's" (\each"/\every") • existentials: \some F " (\at least one") • indefinite descriptions: \an F " • definite descriptions: \the F " Later additions: • negative existentials: \no F 's" (480) • Genitives: \my F " (\your"/\their"/\Joe's"/etc.) (484) • Empty Proper Names: \Apollo", \Hamlet", etc. (491) Russell proposes to analyze denoting phrases. 3. Why Analyze Denoting Phrases? Russell's Project: The distinction between acquaintance and knowledge about is the distinction between the things we have presentation of, and the things we only reach by means of denoting phrases. [. ] In perception we have acquaintance with the objects of perception, and in thought we have acquaintance with objects of a more abstract logical character; but we do not necessarily have acquaintance with the objects denoted by phrases composed of words with whose meanings we are ac- quainted.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics and Philosophy in the Left Vienna Circle
    Intersubjective Accountability: Politics and Philosophy in the Left Vienna Circle Thomas Uebel The University of Manchester In different places Rudolf Carnap and Otto Neurath affirmed “a noteworthy agreement” and an “inner link” between their philosophy of science and political movements agitating for radical socio-economic change. Given the normative abstinence of Vienna Circle philosophy, indeed the metaethical com- mitments of its verificationism, this claim presents a major interpretive chal- lenge that is only heightened when Neurath’s engagement for the socialization of national economies is taken into account. It is argued here that Carnap’s and Neurath’s positions are saved from inconsistency once some careful distinc- tions are understood and it is recognized that they, together with the other members of the Circle, adhered to an epistemic norm here called “intersubjective accountability.” 1. Introduction The question of the political potential possessed by the philosophies of the Vienna Circle is complex for more than one reason. It is so partly due to the politically heterogeneous membership of the Circle, partly due to the dif- ficult if not extreme political circumstances under which they had to operate, and partly due to the variable meanings of the parameter “political,” some of which are and some of which are not compatible with, in turn, variable ver- sions of the doctrine of the value-neutrality of science. For instance, philos- ophies of science may steadfastly be standing guard against pseudo-scientific nonsense being paraded as worthy of credence in public discourse, this con- cern for intellectual hygene becoming “political” depending on who spouts An earlier version of this paper was presented at the workshop “Positivismus als gesellschaftliches und politsches Projekt” convened by Eric Hilgendorf at the University of Münster in January 2017 and I thank the participants for discussions.
    [Show full text]
  • Moritz Schlick and Bas Van Fraassen: Two Different Perspectives on Causality and Quantum Mechanics Richard Dawid1
    Moritz Schlick and Bas van Fraassen: Two Different Perspectives on Causality and Quantum Mechanics Richard Dawid1 Moritz Schlick’s interpretation of the causality principle is based on Schlick’s understanding of quantum mechanics and on his conviction that quantum mechanics strongly supports an empiricist reading of causation in his sense. The present paper compares the empiricist position held by Schlick with Bas van Fraassen’s more recent conception of constructive empiricism. It is pointed out that the development from Schlick’s understanding of logical empiricism to constructive empiricism reflects a difference between the understanding of quantum mechanics endorsed by Schlick and the understanding that had been established at the time of van Fraassen’s writing. 1: Introduction Moritz Schlick’s ideas about causality and quantum mechanics dealt with a topic that was at the forefront of research in physics and philosophy of science at the time. In the present article, I want to discuss the plausibility of Schlick’s ideas within the scientific context of the time and compare it with a view based on a modern understanding of quantum mechanics. Schlick had already written about his understanding of causation in [Schlick 1920] before he set out to develop a new account of causation in “Die Kausalität in der gegenwärtigen Physik” [Schlick 1931]. The very substantial differences between the concepts of causality developed in the two papers are due to important philosophical as well as physical developments. Philosophically, [Schlick 1931] accounts for Schlick’s shift from his earlier position of critical realism towards his endorsement of core tenets of logical empiricism.
    [Show full text]
  • Analyticity George Bealer 1
    Analyticity George Bealer 1. In Critique of Pure Reason Kant introduced the term ‘analytic’ for judgments whose truth is guaranteed by a certain relation of ‘containment’ between the constituent concepts, and ‘synthetic’ for judgments which are not like this. Closely related terms were found in earlier writings of Locke, Hume and Leibniz. In Kant’s definition, an analytic judgment is one in which ‘the predicate B belongs to the subject A, as something which is (covertly) contained in this concept A’ ([1781/1787] 1965: 48). Kant called such judgments ‘explicative’, contrasting them with synthetic judgments which are ‘ampliative’. A paradigmatic analyticity would be: bachelors are unmarried. Kant assumed that knowledge of analytic necessities has a uniquely transparent sort of explanation. In the succeeding two centuries the terms ‘analytic’ and ‘synthetic’ have been used in a variety of closely related but not strictly equivalent ways. In the early 1950s Morton White (1950) and W.V. Quine (1951) argued that the terms were fundamentally unclear and should be eschewed. Although a number of prominent philosophers have rejected their arguments, there prevails a scepticism about ‘analytic’ and the idea that there is an associated category of necessary truths having privileged epistemic status. 1 The attack on ‘analytic’ 2 Extending the attack to ‘necessary’ and ‘a priori’ 3 Defending ‘analytic’ against Quine 4 More damaging problems with ‘analytic’ 5 Epistemological problems with ‘analytic’ 6 Whither ‘analytic’? 1 The attack on ‘analytic’ 1. ‘Analytic’ has been used in a wide variety of ways: truth by conceptual containment and truth whose denial is contradictory (Kant 1781/1787); logical truth (Bolzano 1837; Feigl 1949); truth by definition and logical derivation (Frege 1884; Pap 1958); truth in virtue of form (Schlick 1930–1); truth by definition and logical truth (Carnap 1937, 1947); truth by definition (Ayer 1936); truth based on meaning (Ayer 1936; C.I.
    [Show full text]
  • Reductionism in Education R.T
    Reductionism in Education R.T. Alien, Loughborough Leicestershire, England 1. Reductionism as a Metaphysical Issue In an earlier article, I demonstrated the necessary ingredients of metaphysics in education1• I propose now to show how Reductionism, some­ times called 'Reductivism', is a metaphysical issue, has serious consequences for human life, and can gravely affect educational practice and theory.2 Firstly, we need to distinguish Reductionism from the reduction of one set of laws to another within the same science, whereby the former set are shown to be special cases of the latter. Such reductions are legitimate simplifications. Reductionism, in contrast, is to be understood as the claim that one whole set of things is or can be wholly explained in terms of another set. It is, therefore, a reduction in the number of types of entity or the regions of the world. In particular, Reductionism today operates with a stratified conception of the universe--for example, mind, life, matter or energy--and claims to be able to eliminate the higher levels or to explain them completely in terms of the lower. Familiar examples are the claims that mind is observable behaviour and that people's beliefs and attitudes can be entirely explained in terms of their upbring­ ing or social class. Reductionism, therefore, is to be understood as the claim that a given set of things are either illusory or epiphenomenal: they have either no reality or no independent power. Three types of Reductionism have been distinguished3: a. Methodological--breaking down presently unintelligible wholes into their component parts, which can be managed, fmding their structures and func­ tions, and working thence back to an understanding of the whole.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophical Intuitions – Philosophical Analysis A
    PHILOSOPHICAL INTUITIONS – PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By JAMES F. MCBAIN JR. Dr. Peter J. Markie, Dissertation Supervisor AUGUST 2008 © Copyright by James F. McBain Jr. All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled PHILOSOPHICAL INTUITIONS—PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS presented by James F. McBain Jr., A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, And hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. ____________________________________ Professor Peter J. Markie ____________________________________ Professor Paul Weirich ____________________________________ Professor Donald Sievert _____________________________________ Professor Matthew McGrath _____________________________________ Professor Todd R. Schachtman This work is dedicated to Elizabeth I. McBain and in loving memory of James F. McBain Sr. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation has been a long time coming. I have received enormous encouragement and support from so many for so long. First, I would like to thank Dr. Peter J. Markie for his never ending support and belief in me. Dr. Markie not only has helped me through this project, but has shown me what it means to be a philosopher and a teacher. I can never adequately express my gratitude. None of this would have ever been possible if it were not for him. I would also like to thank the members of my committee – Dr. Paul Weirich, Dr. Donald Sievert, Dr. Matthew McGrath, and Dr. Todd Schactman. The feedback they gave me helped this work become what it has.
    [Show full text]
  • Intuition As Evidence in Philosophical Analysis: Taking Connectionism Seriously
    Intuition as Evidence in Philosophical Analysis: Taking Connectionism Seriously by Tom Rand A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. Graduate Department of Philosophy University of Toronto (c) Copyright by Tom Rand 2008 Intuition as Evidence in Philosophical Analysis: Taking Connectionism Seriously Ph.D. Degree, 2008, by Tom Rand, Graduate Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto ABSTRACT 1. Intuitions are often treated in philosophy as a basic evidential source to confirm/discredit a proposed definition or theory; e.g. intuitions about Gettier cases are taken to deny a justified-true-belief analysis of ‘knowledge’. Recently, Weinberg, Nichols & Stitch (WN&S) provided evidence that epistemic intuitions vary across persons and cultures. In- so-far as philosophy of this type (Standard Philosophical Methodology – SPM) is committed to provide conceptual analyses, the use of intuition is suspect – it does not exhibit the requisite normativity. I provide an analysis of intuition, with an emphasis on its neural – or connectionist – cognitive backbone; the analysis provides insight into its epistemic status and proper role within SPM. Intuition is initially characterized as the recognition of a pattern. 2. The metaphysics of ‘pattern’ is analyzed for the purpose of denying that traditional symbolic computation is capable of differentiating the patterns of interest. 3. The epistemology of ‘recognition’ is analyzed, again, to deny that traditional computation is capable of capturing human acts of recognition. 4. Fodor’s informational semantics, his Language of Thought and his Representational Theory of Mind are analyzed and his arguments denied. Again, the purpose is to deny traditional computational theories of mind.
    [Show full text]