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Full Idea
The idea of a proposition is unhelpful, until it is explained how exactly the words in the contained sentence manage to name or describe a proposition (which even Frege failed to achieve).
Clarification
'Propositions' are supposed mental entities underlying statements
Gist of Idea
Propositions explain nothing without an explanation of how sentences manage to name them
Source
Donald Davidson (Davidson on himself [1994], p.232)
Book Ref
'A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind', ed/tr. Guttenplan,Samuel [Blackwell 1995], p.232
A Reaction
It seems obvious to me that there are brain events best labelled as propositions, even if their fit with language is puzzling.
| 6094 | An inventory of the world does not need to include propositions [Russell] |
| 6096 | I no longer believe in propositions, especially concerning falsehoods [Russell] |
| 21712 | I know longer believe in shadowy things like 'that today is Wednesday' when it is actually Tuesday [Russell] |
| 21724 | The main aim of the multiple relations theory of judgement was to dispense with propositions [Russell, by Linsky,B] |
| 7534 | In 1906, Russell decided that propositions did not, after all, exist [Russell, by Monk] |
| 13989 | There are no propositions; they are just sentences, used for thinking, which link to facts in a certain way [Ryle] |
| 13982 | If we accept true propositions, it is hard to reject false ones, and even nonsensical ones [Ryle] |
| 2610 | Talk of propositions is just shorthand for talking about equivalent sentences [Ayer] |
| 9007 | It makes no sense to say that two sentences express the same proposition [Quine] |
| 9008 | There is no rule for separating the information from other features of sentences [Quine] |
| 9010 | We can abandon propositions, and just talk of sentences and equivalence [Quine] |
| 18968 | The problem with propositions is their individuation. When do two sentences express one proposition? [Quine] |
| 3968 | Propositions explain nothing without an explanation of how sentences manage to name them [Davidson] |
| 12150 | Indexicals reveal big problems with the traditional idea of a proposition [Perry] |
| 6631 | If propositions are abstract entities, how can minds depend on their causal powers? [Lowe] |