more from Donald Davidson

Single Idea 10346

[catalogued under 15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 4. Other Minds / c. Knowing other minds]

Full Idea

Davidson argues that knowledge of other minds presupposes knowledge of one's own mind, and that there is no knowledge of other minds without knowledge of the external world.

Gist of Idea

Knowing other minds rests on knowing both one's own mind and the external world

Source

report of Donald Davidson (Three Varieties of Knowledge [1991]) by Michael Dummett - Common Sense and Physics Ch.10

Book Reference

Kusch,Martin: 'Knowledge by Agreement' [OUP 2004], p.124


A Reaction

Davidson't argument is actually hard to swallow because it is so long and complex. Compressing the point makes it begin to sound like a variant of the argument from analogy.