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    An agent can think directly about objects the agent has n... — Carmelics
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    An agent can think directly about objects the agent has not perceived, provided the agent stands in an appropriate communicative chain that traces back to perceptions of that object by other agents in the chain.

    Philosophy of Language
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    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Direct thought about an object does not require that the thinking agent personally perceive the object.
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    • 2.A communicative chain connecting an agent to an object—where other agents in the chain have perceived the object—constitutes sufficient grounding for direct thought about that object.
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Direct reference requires a causal-perceptual link between the thinker and the object, not merely a social-linguistic chain (Fodor, Devitt).
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    • 2.Transmission through a communicative chain introduces descriptive content at each node, converting ostension into mediated, descriptive thought.
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    • 3.A thought grounded only in transmitted descriptions is about whoever uniquely satisfies those descriptions, not the original object directly.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
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    • 1.Genuine singular thought requires object-dependent mental content: if the object did not exist, the thought itself would not exist (Evans, 'Varieties of Reference').
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    • 2.A communicative chain can sustain reference to an object only if each link preserves the object-dependence, but testimonial transmission routinely severs this dependency by substituting stable descriptive surrogates.
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    • 3.Therefore, what the distal agent thinks is not genuinely object-dependent singular thought but a descriptively anchored representation that merely mimics direct reference.
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    Topics

    Philosophy of LanguageConsciousness & Mind

    Key Terms

    Perceive/Perception(in epistemology)
    To directly experience something through your senses, like seeing a chair or hearing a sound.
    Think directly about (intentionality)(in epistemology and philosophy of mind)
    To have thoughts or knowledge that are about something specific—for example, thinking about Paris even when you're not there.
    agent(Economics terminology applied to medical ethics)
    The party in a principal-agent relationship who is instructed to produce the good or service on the principal's behalf — in the medical context, the doctor
    communicative chain(Neo-Russellian account of singular thought without personal perception)
    A sequence of communicative acts linking a present agent back through other agents to an original perceptual encounter with an object, grounding the present agent's ability to refer to or think about that object.
    epistemology(Contrasted with purely descriptive scientific inquiry)
    A normative enterprise that tells us how we ought to reason from evidence and how we ought to justify our beliefs, as distinct from merely describing how we do reason or justify beliefs

    Connections

    1 topic

    Perception1 linked

    Related

    A communicative chain can sustain reference to an object only if each link prese...A communicative chain connecting an agent to an object—where other agents in the...A thought grounded only in transmitted descriptions is about whoever uniquely sa...

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: propositions-singular
    View source passageHide passage
    Strawson maintained that an agent can demonstratively identify only objects that she has perceived. Neo-Russellians typically go a step further, claiming that an agent can think directly about objects she has not perceived in virtue of standing in the appropriate communicative chains ending in the object. So, even though you have never perceived Plato, we will safely suppose, you can nevertheless think directly about Plato in virtue of your standing in a communicative chain that ultimately trace
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Direct reference requires a causal-perceptual link between the thinker and the o...
    +4 moreShow less
    Direct thought about an object does not require that the thinking agent personal...Genuine singular thought requires object-dependent mental content: if the object...Therefore, what the distal agent thinks is not genuinely object-dependent singul...Transmission through a communicative chain introduces descriptive content at eac...

    Similar

    A communicative chain connecting an agent to an object—where other age...88%Direct thought about an object does not require that the thinking agen...85%Perceptual contact with an object is not necessary at all for an agent...83%When a cognitive agent is suitably integrated with natural objects, ar...79%
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit