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    The analogical argument for other minds is significantly ... — Carmelics
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    The analogical argument for other minds is significantly weaker when applied to members of another species than when applied to other humans.

    Consciousness & MindSkepticism
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Wittgenstein's criterion for mental state attribution requires behavioral and physiological similarity to ground our language games about pain and sensation.
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    • 2.Humans share with other humans a common form of life (Lebensform), including facial expressions, vocalizations, and social responses, that grounds reliable mental attribution.
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    • 3.Members of other species occupy a radically different form of life, so our mental-state concepts may not transfer without systematic distortion, weakening analogical inference.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Thomas Nagel's 'What Is It Like to Be a Bat?' establishes that phenomenal consciousness in distant species may be so alien that human introspection provides no reliable analogical bridge.
      ?

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    • 2.The analogical argument's epistemic force is proportional to the structural overlap between the reference case (oneself) and the target case, as Davidson's principle of interpretive charity presupposes shared propositional attitudes.
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    • 3.Neuroanatomical and evolutionary divergence between humans and phylogenetically distant species reduces the structural overlap precisely where it matters most for introspective projection.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.The traditional argument from analogy for other minds relies on observed similarities between oneself and other humans.
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    • 2.The traditional argument from analogy is already weak when applied to other humans.
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    • 3.When the analogy is extended from humans to members of another species, the degree of similarity is reduced.
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    SkepticismConsciousness & Mind

    Related

    Humans share with other humans a common form of life (Lebensform), including fac...Members of other species occupy a radically different form of life, so our menta...Neuroanatomical and evolutionary divergence between humans and phylogenetically ...The analogical argument's epistemic force is proportional to the structural over...
    +5 moreShow less
    The traditional argument from analogy for other minds relies on observed similar...The traditional argument from analogy is already weak when applied to other huma...Thomas Nagel's 'What Is It Like to Be a Bat?' establishes that phenomenal consci...When the analogy is extended from humans to members of another species, the degr...Wittgenstein's criterion for mental state attribution requires behavioral and ph...

    Similar

    The traditional argument from analogy is already weak when applied to ...86%The traditional argument from analogy for other minds relies on observ...85%Our belief in other minds is not properly warranted, because it rests ...84%The simple argument from analogy is a weak justification for belief in...83%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: cognition-animal
    View source passageHide passage
    The traditional argument from analogy for other minds rests on similarities between oneself and other humans. While the traditional argument is weak enough, when the analogy goes from humans to members of another species, it becomes significantly weaker.
    Extraction notes

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

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit