Davidson's account grounds self-deception in akratic-style partition of the mind, where the motivating state is a full propositional attitude toward the world, not a second-order desire about one's own doxastic states.

?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.

1 reason for

1 reason against

Reasons For

1 perspective

Reason for

1.Self-deception involves genuine belief formation, not mere desire manipulation, so it requires propositional attitudes toward world-states.
?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
2.First-order attitudes about external facts better explain why self-deceivers resist counterevidence than second-order desires about beliefs.
?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
3.Akratic partition models avoid the regress problem: we don't need infinite hierarchies of desires about desires to explain self-deception.
?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

Reasons Against

1 perspective

Reason against

1.Self-deception centrally involves motivated ignorance about one's own mental states, making second-order attitudes psychologically essential.
?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
2.First-order world-directed attitudes alone cannot explain why self-deceivers specifically hide truths from themselves rather than others.
?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak
3.Partition models struggle to explain how one part of mind causally motivates belief-formation in another part without homuncular circularity.
?
Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

Next step

Based on where you are in your exploration

Strongest counterpoint

Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.

Key Terms

Davidson: # Davidson Davidson most commonly refers to **Donald Davidson** (1917-2003), an influential American philosopher known for his work on the philosophy of mind and language. He developed important theories about how our thoughts connect to the physical world and how we understand meaning in language and communication. His ideas have shaped modern philosophy by challenging the view that the mind is completely separate from physical reality.
Self-deception(Zhu Xi's account of wrongdoing): Allowing oneself to ignore the promptings of one's moral sense and become motivated solely by physical desires
akratic(as describing the type of mental partition involved in self-deception): From the Greek word for weakness; it describes acting against your better judgment or doing something you know you shouldn't do. An akratic person knows what's right but does what's wrong anyway.
doxastic states(Used to explain why logic bears on reasoning: beliefs have propositional structure subject to logical evaluation): Belief states whose contents are propositions that stand in logical relations to one another
partition of the mind(as the mechanism that enables self-deception): The idea that the mind isn't unified but has separate sections that can operate independently, sometimes with conflicting beliefs or desires. Think of it like different compartments that don't communicate with each other.
propositional attitude(Philosophy of language and mind): A mental state, such as belief, that relates a subject to a proposition.
second-order desire(Frankfurt's hierarchical model of the will): A desire whose object is a first-order desire that the agent wants to move her to action.

Connections

2 topics

Truth & Knowledge1 linked Moral Responsibility1 linked

Akratic partition models avoid the regress problem: we don't need infinite hiera...First-order attitudes about external facts better explain why self-deceivers res...

Details

Type: claim
Perspectives: 2 (1 for, 1 against)
Edits: 1 edit