Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Protagoras', 'The Conquest of Happiness' and 'Brainchildren'

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2 ideas

18. Thought / B. Mechanics of Thought / 4. Language of Thought
A language of thought doesn't explain content [Dennett]
     Full Idea: Postulating a language of thought is a postponement of the central problems of content ascription, not a necessary first step.
     From: Daniel C. Dennett (Brainchildren [1998], Ch.25)
     A reaction: If the idea of content is built on the idea of representation, then you need some account of what the brain does with its representations.
18. Thought / D. Concepts / 5. Concepts and Language / c. Concepts without language
Maybe there can be non-conscious concepts (e.g. in bees) [Dennett]
     Full Idea: Concepts do not require consciousness. As Jaynes says, the bee has a concept of a flower, but not a conscious concept.
     From: Daniel C. Dennett (Brainchildren [1998], Ch.6)
     A reaction: Does the flower have a concept of rain? Rain plays a big functional role in its existence. It depends, alas, on what we mean by a 'concept'.