Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Celsus, Jerry A. Fodor and A.W. Moore

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3 ideas

5. Theory of Logic / F. Referring in Logic / 1. Naming / a. Names
'Jocasta' needs to be distinguished from 'Oedipus's mother' because they are connected by different properties [Fodor]
     Full Idea: If the concept 'Jocasta' needs to be distinguished from the concept 'Oedipus's mother', that's all right because the two concepts are connected with different properties.
     From: Jerry A. Fodor (Psychosemantics [1987], p. 84)
Names in thought afford a primitive way to bring John before the mind [Fodor]
     Full Idea: Names in thought (in contrast to, say, descriptions in thought) afford a primitive way of bringing John before the mind.
     From: Jerry A. Fodor (LOT 2 [2008], Ch.3 App)
     A reaction: I think the 'file' account of concepts which Fodor has now latched onto gives a wonderful account of names. They are simple if you haven't opened the file yet (like 'Louis', in Evans's example).
'Paderewski' has two names in mentalese, for his pianist file and his politician file [Fodor]
     Full Idea: Paderewski (as pianist and as politician) has two names in Mentalese. If you think there are two Paderewskis, it's important that what you get when you retrieve the pianist file differs from the politician file. You can then merge the two files.
     From: Jerry A. Fodor (LOT 2 [2008], Ch.3 App)
     A reaction: The same will apply to 'Hespherus' and 'Phosphorus'. We can re-separate the 'morning star' and 'evening star' files if we wish to discuss ancient Egyptian attitudes to such things. I love this idea of Fodor's. Explanations flow from it.