The same old debate: has there been any progress in the debate around mental representations?
Dr Nikolai Alksnis (La Trobe University)

May 6, 2015, 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Philosophy program, La Trobe University

Humanities 2, Room 431
La Trobe University
Melbourne
Australia

Organisers:

Aaron Harrison
La Trobe University

Details

On close examination, the debate between those in favour of mental representations and those against appears to have made little progress. One philosopher acutely aware of this was Peter Slezak, who, in a series of articles (Slezak 1999, 2002, 2004), drew parallels between today’s, cognitive science based, debate to the one held between Nicolas Malebranche and Antoine Arnauld in the 17th Century. Tracking the similarities from Malebranche, to Locke, to Jerry Fodor, Slezak shows how the same problems and the same replies come up again and again. This talk will explore these similarities with a focus on the two conflicting models at the heart of this debate: the tripartite model that supports representations (object, representation, mind) versus the dyadic one suggested by anti-representationalists (world, mind). I will contend that it is only by understanding the debate on these terms we can hope to avoid the mistakes of the past. Additionally, this approach allows us to see the level of flexibility afforded by the dyadic approach; a level of flexibility that at least hints at how new approaches could emerge and provide new insight to this long-standing debate.

Supporting material

Add supporting material (slides, programs, etc.)

Reminders

Registration

No

Who is attending?

No one has said they will attend yet.

Will you attend this event?


Let us know so we can notify you of any change of plan.