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Single Idea 7850

[from 'Thinking about Consciousness' by David Papineau, in 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 1. Thought ]

Full Idea

Thinking about something doesn't require activating some version of it.

Gist of Idea

Thinking about a thing doesn't require activating it

Source

David Papineau (Thinking about Consciousness [2002], Intro §5)

Book Reference

Papineau,David: 'Thinking about Consciousness' [OUP 2004], p.7


A Reaction

E.g. I can discuss 'red' without visualising it. This observation strikes me as simple and basic to what thinking is. Papineau thinks that confusion about this simple point leads to major errors in the philosophy of mind.