Single Idea 2450

[catalogued under 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 5. Rationality / a. Rationality]

Full Idea

Mentalism isn't gratuitous; you need it to explain rationality. Mental causation buys you behaviours that are unlike reflexes in at least three ways: they're autonomous, they're productive, and they're experimental.

Gist of Idea

Rationality has mental properties - autonomy, productivity, experiment

Source

Jerry A. Fodor (The Elm and the Expert [1993], §4)

Book Reference

Fodor,Jerry A.: 'The Elm and the Expert' [MIT 1995], p.89


A Reaction

He makes his three ways sound all-or-nothing, which is (I believe) the single biggest danger when thinking about the mind. "Either you are conscious, or you are not..."