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Single Idea 2437

[filed under theme 18. Thought / C. Content / 5. Twin Earth ]

Full Idea

There isn't any XYZ, and there couldn't be any, and so we don't have to worry about it.

Gist of Idea

XYZ (Twin Earth 'water') is an impossibility

Source

Jerry A. Fodor (The Elm and the Expert [1993], §2.I)

Book Ref

Fodor,Jerry A.: 'The Elm and the Expert' [MIT 1995], p.29


A Reaction

Jadeite and Nephrite are real enough, which are virtually indistinguishable variants of jade. You just need Twin Jewellers instead of Twin Earths. We could build them, and employ twins to work there.


The 20 ideas with the same theme [we may not know what we mean by 'water']:

If Twins talking about 'water' and 'XYZ' have different thoughts but identical heads, then thoughts aren't in the head [Putnam, by Crane]
We say ice and steam are different forms of water, but not that they are different forms of H2O [Forbes,G on Putnam]
Does 'water' mean a particular substance that was 'dubbed'? [Putnam, by Rey]
'Water' on Twin Earth doesn't refer to water, but no mental difference can account for this [Putnam]
Reference may be different while mental representation is the same [Putnam]
Keep distinct the essential properties of water, and application conditions for the word 'water' [Jackson]
Two identical brain states could have different contents in different worlds [Kim]
Two types of water are irrelevant to accounts of behaviour [Kim]
What properties a thing must have to be a type of substance can be laid down a priori [Harré/Madden]
XYZ (Twin Earth 'water') is an impossibility [Fodor]
If concept content is reference, then my Twin and I are referring to the same stuff [Fodor]
Presumably molecular structure seems important because we never have the Twin Earth experience [Dupré]
The Twin Earth argument depends on reference being determined by content, which may be false. [Crane]
Twin Earth cases imply that even beliefs about kinds of stuff are indexical [Lowe]
If 'water' has narrow content, it refers to both H2O and XYZ [Segal]
Humans are made of H2O, so 'twins' aren't actually feasible [Segal]
Externalists can't assume old words refer to modern natural kinds [Segal]
That water is essentially H2O in some way concerns how we use 'water' [Sidelle]
Your view of water depends on whether you start from the actual Earth or its counterfactual Twin [Schroeter]
Water must be related to water, just as tigers must be related to tigers [Almog]