Fictionalism and the folk
Toon, A
Date: 10 October 2016
Article
Journal
The Monist
Publisher
Hegeler Institute
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Mental fictionalism is the view that, even if mental states do not exist, it is useful to talk
as if they do. Mental states are useful fictions. Recent philosophy of mind has seen a
growing interest in mental fictionalism. To date, much of the discussion has concerned the
general features of the approach. In this paper, I develop a ...
Mental fictionalism is the view that, even if mental states do not exist, it is useful to talk
as if they do. Mental states are useful fictions. Recent philosophy of mind has seen a
growing interest in mental fictionalism. To date, much of the discussion has concerned the
general features of the approach. In this paper, I develop a specific form of mental
fictionalism by drawing on Kendall Walton’s work on make-believe. According to the
approach I propose, talk of mental states is a useful pretence for describing people and
their behaviour. I try to clarify and motivate this approach by comparing it to well-known
alternatives, including behaviourism, instrumentalism and eliminativism. I also consider
some of the challenges that it faces
Sociology, Philosophy & Anthropology
College of Social Sciences and International Studies
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