Functionalism and Self-Consciousness

Author: McCullagh, Mark1

Source: Mind & Language, Volume 15, Number 5, November 2000 , pp. 481-499(19)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content

Abstract:

I offer a philosophically well-motivated work-around for a problem that George Bealer (`Self-consciousness', Philosophical Review v. 106, 1997) has identified, which he claims is fatal to functionalism. The problem concerns how to generate a satisfactory Ramsey sentence of a psychological theory in which mental predicates occur within the scopes of other mental predicates. My central claim is that the functional roles in terms of which a creature capable of self-consciousness identifies her own mental states must be roles that items could play within creatures whose psychology is less complex than her own.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/1468-0017.00146

Affiliations: 1: Department of Philosophy, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275-0142, USA

The full text electronic article is available for purchase. You will be able to download the full text electronic article after payment.

$35.56 plus tax

 

OR

Back to top

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content
Page Help Click here for Page Help
Shopping cart
Tools
Sign in






Need to register?
Sign up here
Text size: A | A | A | A