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Single Idea 18404

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

Full Idea

Because our perceptual states typically represent the world as seen from a perspective, it is sometimes thought that some distinctively indexical kind of content is needed to characterise those states.

Gist of Idea

It is assumed that indexical content is needed to represent the perspective of perception

Source

Cappelen,H/Dever,Josh (The Inessential Indexical [2013], 01.4)

Book Ref

Cappelen,H/Dever,J: 'The Inessential Indexical' [OUP 2013], p.12


A Reaction

They are summarising this view precisely so that they can oppose it, and I think they are right.


The 19 ideas from 'The Inessential Indexical'

It is assumed that indexical content is needed to represent the perspective of perception [Cappelen/Dever]
A 'teepee' argument has several mutually supporting planks to it [Cappelen/Dever]
The basic Kaplan view is that there is truth-conditional content, and contextual character [Cappelen/Dever]
Indexicals are just non-constant in meaning, and don't involve any special concepts [Cappelen/Dever]
Indexicality is not significantly connected to agency [Cappelen/Dever]
It is proposed that a huge range of linguistic items are context-sensitive [Cappelen/Dever]
Fregeans can't agree on what 'senses' are [Cappelen/Dever]
Fregeans say 'I' differs in reference, so it must also differ in sense [Cappelen/Dever]
Possible worlds accounts of content are notoriously coarse-grained [Cappelen/Dever]
Folk Functionalism is a Ramsification of our folk psychology [Cappelen/Dever]
We deny that action involves some special class of beliefs [Cappelen/Dever]
Proprioception is only immune from error if you are certain that it represents the agent [Cappelen/Dever]
Prioprioception focuses on your body parts, not on your self, or indexicality [Cappelen/Dever]
All indexicals can be expressed non-indexically [Cappelen/Dever]
We can acquire self-knowledge with mirrors, not just with proprioception and introspection [Cappelen/Dever]
All information is objective, and purely indexical information is not much use [Cappelen/Dever]
If some of our thought is tied to its context, it will be hard to communicate it [Cappelen/Dever]
You don't remember your house interior just from an experienced viewpoint [Cappelen/Dever]
Our beliefs and desires are not organised around ourselves, but around the world [Cappelen/Dever]