Indeterminacy, Uselessness, and Abstraction. Problems Posed by Teleological Theories of Mental Content

Ideas Y Valores 62 (152):35-52 (2013)
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Abstract

RESUMEN La teleosemántica es el intento de naturalizar el contenido mental mediante el recurso al concepto de función biológica. En el presente artículo se argumenta que la teleosemántica carece de los recursos necesarios para hacer frente a tres problemas: la indeterminación del contenido, el carácter abstracto de este y la inutilidad biológica de algunas de las representaciones que pueden albergar organismos como los humanos. ABSTRACT Teleosemantics is the attempt to naturalize mental content by resorting to the concept of biological function. The article argues that teleosemantics lacks the necessary resources to solve three problems: the indeterminacy of content, its abstract nature, and the biological uselessness of some of the representations of certain organisms such as human beings

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References found in this work

Misrepresenting & Malfunctioning.Karen Neander - 1995 - Philosophical Studies 79 (2):109-141.
Teleosemantics and indeterminacy.David Papineau - 1998 - Australasian Journal of Philosophy 76 (1):1-14.
Swampman meets swampcow.Karen Neander - 1996 - Mind and Language 11 (1):118-29.

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