Single Idea 16358

[catalogued under 18. Thought / B. Mechanics of Thought / 5. Mental Files]

Full Idea

What files refer to is not determined by properties which the subject takes the referent to have (information, or misinformation, in the file), but through the relations on which the files are based.

Gist of Idea

The reference of a file is fixed by what it relates to, not the information it contains

Source

François Recanati (Mental Files [2012], 3.3)

Book Reference

Recanati,François: 'Mental Files' [OUP 2012], p.35


A Reaction

Maybe. 'Lot 22'. I can build up a hypothetical file by saying 'Imagine an animal which is F, G, H…', and build a reference that relates to nothing. Maybe Recanati overestimates the role of his 'epistemically rewarding' relations in file creation.