An Analytical Examination of Gertler’s Problem concerning the Criterion of Internalism-Externalism in the Philosophy of Mind

Document Type : The Quarterly Jornal

Author

PhD student of the Philosophy of Mind, Institute for Cognitive Science, Tehran

Abstract

In its present formulation, externalism is an important new approach in contemporary philosophies of language and mind. Gertler, a contemporary analytic philosopher, has proposed a new problem concerning the criterion for the distinction between internalism and externalism about the mental content, in an attempt to show that the technical terms, “internalism,” and “externalism,” are seriously vague. The idea behind Gertler’s argument is that any criterion for such a distinction has to appeal to the notion of “subjective,” while this concept is, for her, descriptively and normatively vague and problematic. In this paper, I will first introduce the internalism-externalism debate in the philosophy of mind, and then elaborate Gertler’s problem. After explicating Gertler’s proposed criteria, I will finally seek to uncover and elaborate her wrong presuppositions and methodological errors.

Keywords

References

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Naqd Va Nazar
Volume 23, Issue 89
May 2018
Pages 144-167

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