Single Idea 7055

[catalogued under 18. Thought / C. Content / 6. Broad Content]

Full Idea

The roots of externalist accounts of mental content lie in Wittgenstein.

Gist of Idea

Externalist accounts of mental content begin in Wittgenstein

Source

report of Ludwig Wittgenstein (Philosophical Investigations [1952]) by John Heil - From an Ontological Point of View 18.2 n1

Book Reference

Heil,John: 'From an Ontological Point of View' [OUP 2005], p.209


A Reaction

This points to the key idea being that content involves the whole language community, rather than that it involves the physical stuffs of the world, such as water. I suspect that Wittgenstein is right, but Putnam is wrong.