Are Propositions Mere Measures Of Mind?

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 94 (2):433-452 (2017)
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Abstract

According to the Relational View of Propositional Attitude Reports (‘Relational View of Reports’, for short), attitude reports report thinkers as standing in cognitive relations to propositions. One difficult question for the view is: What is the nature of the cognitive relation(s) thinkers stand in to propositions in having propositional attitudes? One promise of The Measure Theory of Mind (sometimes, ‘The Measure Theory’ or ‘Measure Theory’ for short) is that it can avoid having to answer this question by allowing attitude reports to be relational in form without taking the atti- tudes themselves to be relational, and a fortiori without taking propositional attitudes to involve any cognitive relation to propositions. This paper argues that if the propositional attitudes are conceived of in a robust way that emphasizes their normative and perspectival aspects, then this promise of The Measure Theory cannot be realized. If there is a viable Measure Theory for mind conceived of in these robust terms, it must incorporate, rather than dismiss, the notion of a cognitive relation to a proposition.

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Gurpreet Rattan
University of Toronto, Mississauga

Citations of this work

Acts of desire.Henry Ian Schiller - 2021 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 64 (9):955-972.
The Elusive Case for Relationalism about the Attitudes: Reply to Rattan.Robert J. Matthews - 2017 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 94 (2):453-462.

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References found in this work

What is Meaning?Scott Soames - 2010 - Princeton University Press.
Rethinking Language, Mind, and Meaning.Scott Soames - 2015 - Princeton University Press.
Remnants of Meaning.Stephen Schiffer - 1989 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 50 (2):409-423.
Rethinking language, mind, and meaning.Scott Soames - 2016 - Philosophical Studies 173 (9):2529-2532.

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