Volume 11, Number 3, 347-377, DOI: 10.1023/A:1017567903535

Does Intentional Psychology Need Vindicating by Cognitive Science?

Jonathan Knowles

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Abstract

I argue that intentional psychology does not stand in need of vindication by a lower-level implementation theory from cognitive science, in particular the representational theory of mind (RTM), as most famously Jerry Fodor has argued. The stance of the paper is novel in that I claim this holds even if one, in line with Fodor, views intentional psychology as an empirical theory, and its theoretical posits as as real as those of other sciences. I consider four metaphysical arguments for the idea that intentional psychological states, such as beliefs, must be seen as requiring in-the-head mental representations for us to be able to understand their characteristic causal powers and argue that none of them validly generate their desired conclusions. I go on to argue that RTM, or some computational version thereof, is not motivated by appeal to the nature of cognitive science research either. I conclude that intentional psychology, though an empirical theory, is autonomous from details of lower level mechanism in a way that renders RTM unwarranted.

abstract propositions - broad content - cognitive science - connectionism - folk psychology - intentional psychology - language of thought - levels of explanation - modes of presentation - naturalisation - physicalism - representational theory of mind

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