Studies in Cognitive Systems

Mental Representation, Misrepresentation, and Concept Change

By: M. Perlman

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Hardcover | 29 February 2000

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How can one think about a thing, think something false about it, and still be thinking about that thing at all? If a concept is applied to something outside its meaning, how are we to say it does not mean that thing as well? The problem of misrepresentation is one of the central issues in contemporary philosophy of mind. Here, Mark Perlman criticizes the way all contemporary theories of mental representation seek to account for misrepresentation, concluding that it cannot be explained naturistically. Specifically, Perlman evaluates and criticizes the theories of mental content proposed by Fodor, Dretske, Millikan, Block, Harman and others, as well as examining verificationist approaches to meaning of Quine, Davidson and Stich.
The book goes much further than criticism, however: Perlman formulates a naturalistic theory of representation that reluctantly accepts the unfortunate conclusion that there is no misrepresentation. He adds a pragmatic theory of content, which explains apparent misrepresentation as concept change. Mental representations can be good or bad in specific contexts and for specific purposes, but their correctness is not a matter of truth and falsity. The pragmatic approach to mental content has implications for epistemology, theories of truth, metaphysics, psychology, and AI (specifically connectionist networks).
Readership: One of the most thorough examinations of mental representation and meaning holism available, this book should be read by everyone interested in the mind and how ideas can have meaning. It crosses boundaries from philosophy into psychology, linguistics, AI and cognitive science.

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Non-Fiction Philosophy Epistemology & The Theory of Knowledge Philosophy of The Mind Metaphysics & Ontology History of Western Philosophy Computing & I.T.Computer Science Artificial Intelligence Language & Linguistics Linguistics Philosophy of Language

List of Figures	p. xv
Preface	p. xvii
Groundwork and Overview of the Project	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Naturalism: The Right Kind and The Irrelevant Kinds	p. 8
Origins, Traditional, and Modern 'Use' Theories	p. 14
The Problems With Non-Use Theories of Content	p. 20
Trying To Make Room For Misrepresentation	p. 31
Twin-Earth, Wide Content and Misrepresentation	p. 33
A Step-By-Step Initial Statement of The Argument	p. 42
Advertisement for Arguments Against the Possibility of Misrepresentation	p. 45
The Verificationist Version	p. 45
The Realist/Cognitive Science Version	p. 46
Rejecting Misrepresentation: Overview of SCRT and a Pragmatic Theory of Concept Change	p. 47
Conclusion	p. 50
Verificationism and Failure to Allow for Error and Misrepresentation	p. 51
Misrepresentation and The Analytic/Synthetic Distinction	p. 53
Verificationist Views of Meaning	p. 54
Critiques of Positivism	p. 57
Rejection of the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction	p. 57
Semantic Indeterminacy	p. 60
Skepticism About Rule-Following	p. 64
Rule-Following, Relativism and Cognitive Suicide	p. 68
Quine and Davidson and The Principle of Charity	p. 71
The Social Basis of Error and the Argument Against Error	p. 75
The Rise and Fall of the Appeal to Community Standards	p. 77
Relativity and the Primacy of "Local" Judgments	p. 80
Verificationist Barriers to Determinate Representational Content	p. 81
Stich's Eliminativism: Barriers to Content Explanations	p. 82
Anderson - Indeterminacy of The Nature of Representations	p. 84
Applying The Verificationist Argument to Mental Representation	p. 85
Cognitive Science and the Failure to Allow for Error and Misrepresentation	p. 89
Introduction: The Cognitive Science Argument Against Misrepresentation	p. 89
General Argument Against Misrepresentation	p. 90
Functional Definition of Logical Connectives	p. 90
The Impact of Functional Definition of Logical Connectives on Logically Complex Expressions	p. 93
Alternative Version of the Logical Connectives Argument	p. 94
Impact of the Logical Connectives Argument	p. 97
Uses of Non-Logical Concepts	p. 98
Two Factor Conceptual Role Theories	p. 100
Critique of Two-Factor Theories	p. 107
Initial Confusion - Underdetermination	p. 108
An Instructive Criticism of Harman by Loar	p. 109
A Recent Argument Against Two-Factor Conceptual Role Theories: The Alignment Problem	p. 111
The Deep Problem With Two-Factor Theories	p. 114
Implications of the Failure of Two-Factor Theories	p. 118
Causal and Adaptational Theories of Content: Origins and Strategy	p. 120
Modern Causal Theories: Dretske and Fodor	p. 121
Causal Theories of Content and Conceptual Role	p. 130
Adaptational Theories of Content	p. 133
Millikan's Adaptational Theory	p. 133
Dretske's Version of Teleology	p. 138
Teleology and Conceptual Role	p. 142
Logical Connectives, Misrepresentation, and Explanatory Relevance of Causal and Adaptational Theories	p. 144
Conclusion	p. 146
Content without Misrepresentation: A Pragmatic Theory	p. 151
Strict Conceptual Role Theory of Content	p. 152
Representation Without Misrepresentation	p. 152
The Status of Content: Explanation vs. Description	p. 158
Saving The Appearances: A Pragmatic Theory of Concept Change	p. 163
What Is Apparent Error?	p. 163
SCRT and Specific Cases of Alleged Misrepresentation	p. 165
SCRT and Twin-Earth	p. 173
Self-Evaluation and Voluntary vs. Involuntary Concept Change	p. 178
Understanding Concept Change, Flux, and Fixing Meaning	p. 180
Uses and Malfunctions	p. 184
SCRT and Perceptual Misrepresentation	p. 186
Understanding Success	p. 190
Epistemic Criticism According to SCRT	p. 195
How Is Communication Possible?	p. 199
Conclusion	p. 206
Objections and Replies	p. 207
Introduction	p. 207
The Question-Begging Objections	p. 208
The Easy Accusation of Incoherence	p. 216
First-Person Judgments, Usefulness, and Predictions	p. 219
Falsehoods, Self-Contradictions, and Impossible Objects	p. 221
Systematicity, Compositionality, and Productivity	p. 226
Empty and Overflowing Contents Content: Reconciling Tautologies with Contingency	p. 229
Lying	p. 238
Retroactive and Opaque Content Attribution	p. 240
Technical Problems with Truth Values and Possible Worlds	p. 242
Changing One's Mind	p. 243
Collapsing Concept and Conception	p. 244
Linguistic Meaning and Representational Meaning	p. 248
Rejection of the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction	p. 250
Conclusion	p. 251
Analyticity, Compositionality, and Meaning Holism	p. 253
Quine, Confirmational Holism, and Meaning Holism	p. 254
Quine's Argument	p. 255
Verificationism I	p. 256
Trouble for the Received View	p. 259
Fodor's Quine: Meaning Nihilist	p. 259
Why Fodor Is Wrong About Meaning Nihilism	p. 261
All the Verificationism Quine Needs	p. 264
A Deep Problem for the Received View of Quine	p. 267
Conceptual Role Theories and the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction	p. 270
Fodor and Lepore on Analyticity, Compositionality, and Holism	p. 270
What Compositionality Entails	p. 273
The Three Ways to Deny the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction	p. 275
The Tenability of the All-Analytic Route	p. 279
On Obviously Non-Analytic Inferences and Uses	p. 279
Analyticity and Necessity of Meaning	p. 282
Holism at the Half-Way Point	p. 284
Varieties of Meaning Holism	p. 287
The Starting Point: Functional Architecture and a New Kind of Analytic/Synthetic Distinction	p. 287
Three Kinds of Conceptual Roles and Three Degrees of Holism	p. 289
Functional Role and Holism	p. 297
Epistemic Role and Holism	p. 300
Diachronic Epistemic Role and Holism	p. 301
Synchronic Epistemic Role and Holism	p. 304
How Much to Include in Conceptual Role	p. 309
The Degree and Kind of Holism in SCRT	p. 317
Holism and Mrs. T	p. 317
Verificationism, Confirmation Holism, and Meaning Holism	p. 322
Implications of Strict Conceptual Role Theory	p. 327
SCRT and Traditional Epistemology	p. 327
SCRT and the Theory of Truth	p. 331
Philosophy of Language: SCRT on Indexicals, Demonstratives, Performatives, and Recognitional Concepts	p. 333
Elsewhere in the Philosophy of Mind: Qualia and Consciousness	p. 338
Special Epistemological and Ontological Problem: Beliefs and the Mind of God	p. 341
Philosophy of Science	p. 342
Implications for Metaphysics	p. 344
Natural Kinds	p. 344
Conceptual Relativism and Metaphysical Realism	p. 345
Implications of SCRT for Linguistics	p. 351
Grammar	p. 351
Structuralism and Linguistic Relativity	p. 353
Pragmatics	p. 355
Applications of SCRT for Psychology	p. 357
Applications of SCRT for Artificial Intelligence	p. 364
Conclusion about SCRT's Implications	p. 370
Methodological Objections, Nihilism, and (Re)Appraisal	p. 373
First Methodological Objection: Why Not the Conventional Views Minus Misrepresentation?	p. 374
Understanding Actual Use	p. 375
Conservatism	p. 379
Relating to Cognitive Processing	p. 380
Second Methodological Objection: Waiting For Alternatives	p. 383
Third Methodological Objection: Flaws In Naturalism, The Representational Theory of The Mind, or Use Theories?	p. 383
Fourth Methodological Objection: Hidden Flaws in the Argument	p. 385
Fifth Methodological Objection: Talking with the Vulgar	p. 385
The Big Question: Does Strict Conceptual Role Theory Really Amount to Meaning Nihilism?	p. 387
The Necessary Conditions For a Theory of Meaning	p. 389
More on the Explanatory Role of Content in Conceptual Role Theories	p. 396
SCRT as "Merely" a Theory of Causal Connections of Sub-Symbolic Processing	p. 399
A Moderate Re-Appraisal and an Immoderate Conclusion	p. 401
References	p. 407
Index of Names	p. 421
Index of Subjects	p. 425
About the Author	p. 435
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Studies in Cognitive Systems

Mental Representation, Misrepresentation, and Concept Change

At a Glance

Hardcover

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

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