Single Idea 22248

[catalogued under 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 9. Indexical Thought]

Full Idea

Indexical thoughts create an obvious problem with regard to communication. How can we manage to communicate such thoughts to those who are not in the right context?

Gist of Idea

How can we communicate indexical thoughts to people not in the right context?

Source

François Recanati (Mental Files in Flux [2016], 7.1)

Book Reference

Recanati,François: 'Mental Files in Flux' [OUP 2016], p.111


A Reaction

One answer is that you often cannot communicate them. If I write on a wall 'I am here now', that doesn't tell the next passer-by very much. But 'it's raining here' said in a telephone call works fine - if you know the location of the caller.