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Single Idea 3960

[filed under theme 15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / a. Mind ]

Full Idea

There are no such things as minds, but people have mental properties.

Gist of Idea

There are no such things as minds, but people have mental properties

Source

Donald Davidson (Davidson on himself [1994], p.231)

Book Ref

'A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind', ed/tr. Guttenplan,Samuel [Blackwell 1995], p.231


A Reaction

I think this is right. It fits with Searle's notion of consciousness as a property, like the liquidity of water. I don't panic if I think "I have no mind, but I have extraordinary properties".


The 9 ideas with the same theme [general ideas about the mind]:

Nous is unlimited, self-ruling and pure; it is the finest thing, with great discernment and strength [Anaxagoras]
The Stoics think that soul in the narrow sense is nothing but reason [Stoic school, by Frede,M]
The human mind is the very idea or knowledge of the human body [Spinoza]
Mind is never isolated, but only exists in its interactions [Dewey]
There are no such things as minds, but people have mental properties [Davidson]
The mind is a property, or it is baffling [Rorty]
I regard the mind-body problem as wide open, and extremely confusing [Kripke]
Inner v outer brings astonishment that we are a particular person [Nagel]
The two ways proposed to distinguish mind are intentionality or consciousness [Molnar]