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Single Idea 22417

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

Full Idea

Indexicals are like secondary qualities in not figuring in causal explanations of the interactions of objects: physics omits them not because they are relative and egocentric, but because they do not constitute explanatory predicates of a causal theory.

Gist of Idea

Indexicals do not figure in theories of physics, because they are not explanatory causes

Source

Colin McGinn (Subjective View: sec qualities and indexicals [1983], 2)

Book Ref

McGinn,Colin: 'The Subjective View' [OUP 1983], p.22

A Reaction

They are outside explanatory physics, but not outside explanation. The object moved because a force acted on it; or the object moved because I wanted it moved.

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]