Applying the Causal Theory of Reference to Intentional Concepts
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
We argue that many recent philosophical discussions about the reference of everyday concepts of intentional states have implicitly been predicated on descriptive theories of reference. To rectify this, we attempt to demonstrate how a causal theory can be applied to intentional concepts. Specifically, we argue that some phenomena in early social de- velopment ðe.g., mimicry, gaze following, and emotional contagionÞ can serve as refer- ence fixers that enable children to track others’ intentional states and, thus, to refer to those states. This allows intentional concepts to be anchored to their referents, even if folk psy- chological descriptions turn out to be false.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Philosophy of Science |
Volume | 80 |
Issue number | 2 |
Pages (from-to) | 212-230 |
Number of pages | 19 |
ISSN | 0031-8248 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2013 |
ID: 50212884