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Single Idea 7519

[filed under theme 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 4. Folk Psychology ]

Full Idea

Folk psychology fails utterly to explain a considerable variety of central psychological phenomena: mental illness, sleep, creativity, memory, intelligence differences, and many forms of learning, to cite just a few.

Gist of Idea

Many mental phenomena are totally unexplained by folk psychology

Source

Paul M. Churchland (Folk Psychology [1996], III)

Book Ref

Churchland,Paul and Patricia: 'On the Contrary: critical essays 1987-1997' [MIT 1998], p.8


A Reaction

If folk psychology is a theory, it will have been developed to predict behaviour, rather than as a full-blown psychological map. The odd thing is that some people seem to be very bad at folk psychology.


The 19 ideas with the same theme [is the truth about minds found in normal speech?]:

Can we give a scientific, computational account of folk psychology? [Putnam]
We don't postulate folk psychology, we experience it [Searle]
Folk psychology covers input, internal role, and output [Jackson]
A culture without our folk psychology would be quite baffling [Kim]
Folk psychology has been remarkably durable [Kim]
Maybe folk psychology is a simulation, not a theory [Kim]
Folk psychology has adapted to Freudianism [Kim]
Folk psychology makes good predictions, by associating mental states with causal roles [Lewis]
If folk psychology gives a network of causal laws, that fits neatly with functionalism [Churchland,PM]
Many mental phenomena are totally unexplained by folk psychology [Churchland,PM]
Folk psychology never makes any progress, and is marginalised by modern science [Churchland,PM]
Like the 'centre of gravity', desires and beliefs are abstract concepts with no actual existence [Dennett]
You couldn't drive a car without folk psychology [Dennett]
Folk psychology explains behaviour by reference to intentional states like belief and desire [Fodor]
Folk psychology is the only explanation of behaviour we have [Fodor]
Folk psychology works badly for alien cultures [Lyons]
Folk psychology and neuroscience are no more competitors than cartography and geology are [Heil]
Folk psychology is ridiculously dualist in its assumptions [Segal]
Folk essentialism rests on belief in natural kinds, in hidden properties, and on words indicating structures [Gelman]