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    Carmelics

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
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    Perspectives
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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that If a mental state can refer to an external thing through causal or functional relations rather than likeness, the species theory's resemblance requirement is unmotivated.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Causal relations alone cannot distinguish correct from incorrect reference without some structural matching between thought and world (resemblance).
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    • 2.The species theory may still require resemblance at some level: thoughts resemble external structures functionally, even if not perceptually.
      ?

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    • 3.Causal-functional theories face the problem of distinguishing thoughts from their causes—resemblance provides intrinsic content independent of history.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Mental content depends fundamentally on causal history: a belief about water requires the right causal chain from H2O, not resemblance to it.
      ?

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    • 2.Species theory cannot explain how abstract concepts (justice, number) refer without likeness, suggesting resemblance is not a general requirement.
      ?

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    • 3.If functional role determines reference (as in functionalism), resemblance becomes epiphenomenal—an unnecessary addition to causal-functional accounts.
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