Singular Thought and Mental Files

Singular Thought and Mental Files
Author: Rachel Goodman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2020-01-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0198746881

The notion of singular (or de re) thought has become central in philosophy of mind and language, yet there is still little consensus concerning the best way to think about the nature of singular thought. Coinciding with recognition of the need for more clarity about the notion, there has been a surge of interest in the concept of a mental file as a way to understand what is distinctive about singular thought. What isn't always clear, however, is what mental files are meant to be, and why we should believe that thoughts that employ them are singular as opposed to descriptive. This volume brings together original chapters by leading scholars which aim to examine and evaluate the viability of the mental files framework for theorizing about singular thought. The first section of the volume addresses the central issues of the definition and nature of singular thought, as well as how it relates to the notion of a mental file. The second section addresses the legitimacy of the mental files conception of singular thought by assessing the philosophical motivations or the purported empirical support for the view, or by laying out a specific version of it. The third section helps to clarify both the notion of a mental file and the mental files conception of singular thought by focusing on their role in explaining de jure coreference in thought and language. The volume then concludes with a final section that casts doubt on the mental files conception and the legitimacy of the file-theoretic framework more generally.

Mental Files

Mental Files
Author: François Recanati
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0199659982

François Recanati presents his theory of mental files, a new way of understanding reference in language and thought. Linguistic expressions inherit their reference from the files that we associate with them, which are classified according to their function, which is to store information derived through certain types of relation to objects.

New Essays on Singular Thought

New Essays on Singular Thought
Author: Robin Jeshion
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2010-05-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0199567883

Leading philosophers present essays on an issue central to philosophy of mind, language, and perception: the nature of our thought about the external world. The essays explore directions for future research, an important resource for anyone working at the interface of semantics and mental representation.

The Objects of Thought

The Objects of Thought
Author: Tim Crane
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780198748045

Tim Crane addresses the ancient question of how it is possible to think about what does not exist. He argues that the representation of the non-existent is a pervasive feature of our thought about the world, and that to understand thought's representational power we need to understand the representation of the non-existent.

Mental Files in Flux

Mental Files in Flux
Author: François Récanati
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2016
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 019879035X

François Recanati has pioneered the 'mental file' framework for thinking about concepts and how we refer to the world in thought and language. He now explores what happens to mental files in a dynamic setting: Recanati argues that communication involves interpersonal dynamic files.

New Thoughts about Old Things

New Thoughts about Old Things
Author: Krista Lawlor
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2001
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780815339632

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Reference and Representation in Thought and Language

Reference and Representation in Thought and Language
Author: María Ponte
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2017
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0198714211

This volume offers novel views on the precise relation between reference to an object by means of a linguistic expression and our mental representation of that object, long a source of debate in the philosophy of language, linguistics, and cognitive science. Chapters in this volume deal with our devices for singular reference and singular representation, with most focusing on linguistic expressions that are used to refer to particular objects, persons, or places. These expressions include proper names such as Mary and John; indexicals such as I and tomorrow; demonstrative pronouns such as this and that; and some definite and indefinite descriptions such as The Queen of England or a medical doctor. Other chapters examine the ways we represent objects in thought, particularly the first-person perspective and the self, and one explores a notion common to reference and representation: salience. The volume includes the latest views on these complex topics from some of the most prominent authors in the field and will be of interest to anyone working on issues of reference and representation in thought and language.

Mental Files in Flux

Mental Files in Flux
Author: François Recanati
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2016-11-24
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0192507575

François Recanati has pioneered the 'mental file' framework for thinking about concepts and how we refer to the world in thought and language. Mental files are based on 'epistemically rewarding' relations to objects in the environment. Standing in such relations to objects puts the subject in a position to gain information regarding them. The information thus gained goes into the file based on the relevant relation. Files do not merely store information about objects, however, they refer to them and serve as singular terms in the language of thought, with a relational (nondescriptivist) semantics. In this framework, the reference of linguistic expressions is inherited from that of the files we associate with them. Crucially, files also play the role of 'modes of presentation'. They are used to account for cognitive significance phenomena illustrated by so-called 'Frege cases'. In this new volume, Recanati considers what happens to mental files in a dynamic setting. Mental files are construed as both continuants (dynamic files) and as time-slices thereof (static files). Dynamic files are needed to account for confusion, recognition and tracking. Mental Files in Flux considers what happens to the relation of coreference de jure, central to the functional characterization of files, when one adopts a dynamic perspective. Only a weak form of coreference de jure is said to hold between stages of the same dynamic file. The second part of the book argues that communication involves interpersonal dynamic files. Special attention is paid to the communication of indexical thoughts (de se contents) and communication using proper names.

New Essays on Singular Thought

New Essays on Singular Thought
Author: Robin Jeshion
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2010-05-27
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 019157659X

New Essays on Singular Thought presents ten new, specially written essays on an issue central to philosophy of mind, language, and perception: the nature of our thought about the external world. Is our thought about objects in the world always descriptive, mediated by our conceptions of those objects? Or is some of our thought somehow more direct, singular, associated more intimately with our perceptual, linguistic, and socially mediated relations to them? Leading experts in the field contributing to this volume make the case for the singularity of thought and debate a broad spectrum of issues it raises, including the structure of singular thought, the role of acquaintance in perception- and communication-based reference, the semantics of fictional and mythical terms, and the merits of epistemic, cognitive, and linguistic conditions on singular thought. Their essays explore new directions for future research and will be an important resource for anyone working at the interface of semantics and mental representation.