Combining Philosophers

Ideas for H.Putnam/P.Oppenheim, Georges Rey and Timothy Williamson

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2 ideas

18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 2. Propositional Attitudes
To know, believe, hope or fear, one must grasp the thought, but not when you fail to do them [Williamson]
     Full Idea: To know, believe, hope, or fear that A, one must grasp the thought that A. In contrast, to fail to know, believe, hope or fear that A, one need not grasp the thought that A.
     From: Timothy Williamson (Vagueness [1994], 9.3 c)
     A reaction: A simple point, which at least shows that propositional attitudes are a two-stage operation.
Some attitudes are information (belief), others motivate (hatred) [Rey]
     Full Idea: Propositional attitudes divide into two broad types: neutral informational ones (belief, suspicion, imagining), and directional ones which motivate an agent (preference, desire, hate).
     From: Georges Rey (Contemporary Philosophy of Mind [1997], 1.1.2)
     A reaction: Since suspicions are motivating, and preferences are informational, this is not a very sharp distinction. An alternative would be to say that there is one type, and sometimes the will gets involved.