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Full Idea
Like such abstracta as centres of gravity and parallelograms of force, the beliefs and desires posited by the highest intentional stance have no independent and concrete existence.
Clarification
'Abstracta' are purely theoretical ideas. The 'intentional stance' assumes fictions about the mind in order to interpret it
Gist of Idea
Like the 'centre of gravity', desires and beliefs are abstract concepts with no actual existence
Source
Daniel C. Dennett (Daniel Dennett on himself [1994], p.239)
Book Ref
'A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind', ed/tr. Guttenplan,Samuel [Blackwell 1995], p.239
A Reaction
I don't see why we shouldn't one day have a physical account of the distinctive brain events involved in a belief or a desire
| 3983 | Learning is evolution in the brain [Dennett] |
| 3985 | Biology is a type of engineering, not a search for laws of nature [Dennett] |
| 3986 | The 'intentional stance' is a way of interpreting an entity by assuming it is rational and self-aware [Dennett] |
| 3987 | Like the 'centre of gravity', desires and beliefs are abstract concepts with no actual existence [Dennett] |
| 3984 | The nature of content is entirely based on its functional role [Dennett] |