Understanding self-ascription

Frank Jackson, Daniel Stoljar*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    2 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    David Lewis argues that believing something is self-ascribing a property rather than holding true a proposition. But what is self-ascription? Is it some new mysterious primitive? Is Lewis saying that every belief you have is about you? Several recent authors have suggested that, in the light of these questions, Lewis's theory should be rejected, despite its enormous influence. But this neglects the fact that Lewis makes two relevant proposals about belief: one about belief de se, another about belief de re. It is the second that prompts these questions but the first that is central to his theory.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)141-155
    Number of pages15
    JournalMind and Language
    Volume35
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2020

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