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Single Idea 16379

[filed under theme 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 9. Indexical Thought ]

Full Idea

When Dr Lauben thinks he has been wounded, ..only Dr Lauben can grasp thoughts determined in this way. But he cannot communicate a thought which only he can grasp. To say 'I have been wounded' he must use 'I' in a sense graspable by others.

Gist of Idea

Thoughts about myself are understood one way to me, and another when communicated

Source

Gottlob Frege (The Thought: a Logical Enquiry [1918]), quoted by François Recanati - Mental Files 16.1

Book Ref

Recanati,François: 'Mental Files' [OUP 2012], p.209

A Reaction

[compressed] This seems to be the first, and very influential, attempt to explain the unusual and revealing semantics of indexicals. It seems to be the ultimate source of 2-D semantics, by introducing two modes of meaning for one term.

The 19 ideas with the same theme [thought which depends on a particular perspective]:

16379 Thoughts about myself are understood one way to me, and another when communicated [Frege]
16391 Indexical thoughts are about themselves, and ascribe properties to themselves [Perry, by Recanati]
16390 Lewis's popular centred worlds approach gives an attitude an index of world, subject and time [Lewis, by Recanati]
18410 Indexical thought is in relation to my self-consciousness [McGinn]
22417 Indexicals do not figure in theories of physics, because they are not explanatory causes [McGinn]
22420 The indexical perspective is subjective, incorrigible and constant [McGinn]
18402 Indexical concepts are indispensable, as we need them for the power to act [McGinn]
18403 Indexicals may not be objective, but they are a fact about the world as I see it [Chalmers]
18409 Indexicals apply to singular thought, and mental files have essentially indexical features [Recanati]
16354 Indexicality is closely related to singularity, exploiting our direct relations with things [Recanati]
22247 Indexicality is not just a feature of language; examples show it also occurs in thought [Recanati]
22248 How can we communicate indexical thoughts to people not in the right context? [Recanati]
18424 If two people can have phenomenally identical experiences, they can't involve the self [Brogaard]
18404 It is assumed that indexical content is needed to represent the perspective of perception [Cappelen/Dever]
18407 Indexicality is not significantly connected to agency [Cappelen/Dever]
18426 All information is objective, and purely indexical information is not much use [Cappelen/Dever]
18427 If some of our thought is tied to its context, it will be hard to communicate it [Cappelen/Dever]
18428 You don't remember your house interior just from an experienced viewpoint [Cappelen/Dever]
18429 Our beliefs and desires are not organised around ourselves, but around the world [Cappelen/Dever]