The Situated Self

J. T. Ismael's monograph is an ambitious contribution to metaphysics and the philosophy of language and mind. She tackles a philosophical question whose origin goes back to Descartes: What am I? The self is not a mere thing among things--but if so, what is it, and what is its relationship to the world? Ismael is an original and creative thinker who tries to understand our problematic concepts about the self and how they are related to our use of language in particular. Acknowledgments......Page 8 Contents......Page 10 1 Introduction......Page 16 Part I / The Situated Mind......Page 22 2 Traditional Representationalism......Page 24 2.1 BURGE ON BELIEF DE RE......Page 26 2.2 PERRY: THOUGHT WITHOUT REPRESENTATION......Page 30 3.1 THE MODEL-THEORETIC ARGUMENT......Page 34 3.2 ARCHITECTURAL VS. SEMANTIC RELATIONS......Page 46 3.3 CONCLUSION......Page 47 4 The Dynamical Approach......Page 50 4.1 THE CENTRAL NOTIONS......Page 51 4.2 COORDINATING MEDIA WITH ONE ANOTHER......Page 53 4.3 CONCLUSION......Page 57 5 Self-Description......Page 58 5.1 EXEMPLIFICATION......Page 59 5.2 THOUGHT AND EXPERIENCE......Page 61 5.3 GENERAL THEMES......Page 64 5.4 INTERNAL WORLD-MODELS AND SELF-REPRESENTATIONAL LOOPS......Page 66 5.5 PHYSICAL AND PHENOMENAL CONCEPTS......Page 69 6 Context and Coordination......Page 72 6.1 THE GENERAL DYNAMIC......Page 75 6.2 MECHANICAL METAPHOR......Page 78 6.3 IMPOSING VS. REVEALING ARTICULATION......Page 79 6.4 UNARTICULATED CONSTITUENTS......Page 81 6.5 COORDINATING NOTIONS WITH PARTICULARS: SPACE AND TIME......Page 83 6.6 CONCLUSION......Page 85 7 Self-Representation, Objectivity, and Intentionality......Page 88 7.1 DRETSKE’S QUESTION......Page 91 7.2 OBJECTIVE PURPORT......Page 93 7.3 WHY DO WE SELF-REPRESENT?......Page 96 7.4 HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?......Page 99 7.5 LOOSE ENDS......Page 100 7.6 CONCLUSION......Page 103 Part 2 / Understanding Arguments for Dualism......Page 104 8 Jackson’s Mary......Page 106 8.1 WHAT MARY LEARNS......Page 108 8.2 INCOMPLETENESS?......Page 116 8.3 REFINING IDEAS: THE DIRECTION OF DEVELOPMENT......Page 117 8.4 IN SUM......Page 118 8.5 THE SPACE OF REASONS AND THE SPACE OF CAUSES......Page 120 9 Inverted Spectra......Page 122 9.1 IS SPECTRUM INVERSION POSSIBLE?......Page 123 9.2 EXEMPLARS......Page 124 9.3 LANGUAGE......Page 126 9.4 A LESSON ABOUT LANGUAGE......Page 129 9.5 INTERPLANETARY ANALOGY OF ‘LEFT’ AND ‘RIGHT’......Page 130 9.6 LANGUAGE AND PHENOMENAL CONTENT......Page 133 9.7 QUINING QUALIA......Page 136 9.8 WORRIES ABOUT REALISM......Page 139 9.9 CHALMERS......Page 142 9.10 CONCLUSION......Page 147 10.1 MCTAGGART’S ARGUMENT......Page 150 10.2 THE RESOLUTION......Page 154 10.3 OTHER EXAMPLES: SPACE AND FAMILY TREES......Page 156 10.4 MCTAGGART MODALIZED......Page 158 10.5 WHY THE ILLUSION IS COMPELLING......Page 162 10.6 THE SELF......Page 163 10.7 THE LESSON......Page 166 10.8 PHENOMENAL PROPERTIES......Page 167 Part 3 / Selves......Page 174 11 Identity over Time......Page 176 11.1 REFLEXIVE ACCOUNTS......Page 177 11.2 PROBLEMS WITH IDENTITY OVER TIME......Page 180 11.3 POST HOC CONCEPTUALIZATION......Page 184 11.4 FROM INFORMATIONAL TO CONCEPTUAL CONTENT......Page 192 11.5 DRAWING THE BOUNDARIES......Page 194 11.6 CONNECTING WITH EARLIER THEMES......Page 199 11.7 WHY THE TEMPORALLY EXTENDED SELF?......Page 200 11.8 OTHER VIEWS ABOUT IDENTITY OVER TIME......Page 201 11.9 PARFITTEAN AND FREGEAN VIEWS......Page 203 11.10 NO-SUBJECT VIEWS......Page 205 11.11 CONCLUSION......Page 211 12 The Unified Self......Page 214 12.1 DENNETT......Page 215 12.2 THE INNER MONOLOGUE......Page 218 12.3 DELIBERATION......Page 223 12.4 THE MANY VOICES OF DENNETT......Page 224 12.5 SELF-PRESENTATION, PHENOMENOLOGY, AND CONSCIOUSNESS......Page 228 12.6 UNITY......Page 233 13 Reprise......Page 242 Bibliography......Page 246 Index......Page 252 J.T. Ismael's monograph is an ambitious contribution to the metaphysics and the philosophy of language and mind. She tackles a philosophical question whose origin goes back to Descartes: What am I? The self is not a mere thing among things - but if so, what is it, and what is its relationship to the world? Ismael is an original and creative thinker who tries to understand our problematic concepts about the self and how they are related to our use of language in particular This text focuses on the metaphysics and the philosophy of language and mind. It tackles a philosophical question whose origin goes back to Descartes: What am I? The self is not a mere thing among things - but if so, what is it, and what is its relationship to the world? J.t. Ismael. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 233-237) And Index.