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Full Idea
To possess a dispositional property is not to be in a particular state;..it is to be bound or liable to be in a particular state, or undergo a particular change, when a particular condition is realized.
Gist of Idea
A dispositional property is not a state, but a liability to be in some state, given a condition
Source
Gilbert Ryle (The Concept of Mind [1949], II (7))
Book Ref
Ryle,Gilbert: 'The Concept of Mind' [Penguin 1949], p.43
A Reaction
Whether this view is correct is the central question about dispositions. Ryle's view is tied in with Humean regularities and behaviourism about mind. The powers view, which I favour, says a disposition is a drawn bow, an actual state of power.
| 2388 | Behaviour depends on desires as well as beliefs [Chalmers on Ryle] |
| 3354 | You can't explain mind as dispositions, if they aren't real [Benardete,JA on Ryle] |
| 2387 | How can behaviour be the cause of behaviour? [Chalmers on Ryle] |
| 18005 | Philosophy aims to become more disciplined about categories [Ryle] |
| 1354 | We cannot introspect states of anger or panic [Ryle] |
| 1353 | Reporting on myself has the same problems as reporting on you [Ryle] |
| 2620 | Dualism is a category mistake [Ryle] |
| 2622 | Can one movement have a mental and physical cause? [Ryle] |
| 14297 | A dispositional property is not a state, but a liability to be in some state, given a condition [Ryle] |
| 14300 | No physical scientist now believes in an occult force-exerting agency [Ryle] |
| 2624 | I cannot prepare myself for the next thought I am going to think [Ryle] |