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Full Idea
The ancestor and chief rival of the language-of-thought hypothesis is the picture theory of ideas - that thoughts are about what they are about because they resemble their objects.
Gist of Idea
The predecessor and rival of the language of thought hypothesis is the picture theory of ideas
Source
Daniel C. Dennett (Kinds of Minds [1996], Ch.2)
Book Ref
Dennett,Daniel C.: 'Kinds of Minds' [Phoenix 1997], p.68
A Reaction
When you place them side by side, neither seems quite right. How can a mental state resemble an object, and how can an inner language inherently capture the features of an object? Maybe we lack the words for the correct theory.
4608 | Minds are hard-wired, or trial-and-error, or experimental, or full self-aware [Dennett, by Heil] |
4873 | What is it like to notice an uncomfortable position when you are asleep? [Dennett] |
4872 | Most people see an abortion differently if the foetus lacks a brain [Dennett] |
4874 | The predecessor and rival of the language of thought hypothesis is the picture theory of ideas [Dennett] |
4875 | We descend from robots, and our intentionality is composed of billions of crude intentional systems [Dennett] |
4879 | There is no more anger in adrenaline than silliness in a bottle of whiskey [Dennett] |
4876 | Maybe there is a minimum brain speed for supporting a mind [Dennett] |
4878 | The materials for a mind only matter because of speed, and a need for transducers and effectors [Dennett] |
4877 | Maybe plants are very slow (and sentient) animals, overlooked because we are faster? [Dennett] |
4880 | Sentience comes in grades from robotic to super-human; we only draw a line for moral reasons [Dennett] |
4881 | Being a person must involve having second-order beliefs and desires (about beliefs and desires) [Dennett] |
4882 | Concepts are things we (unlike dogs) can think about, because we have language [Dennett] |