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Davidsonian naturalism and "a-ontological" philosophy of mind

John Fennell

pp. n/a

Abstract

This paper argues that Davidson’s position in the philosophy of mind undergoes a change from his early writings to his later ones. Whereas the early Davidson emphasizes how anomalous monism expresses a token-identity form of physicalism, his later writings instead suggest that anomalous monism articulates an “a-ontological” position. I aim to show both how the later a-ontological position results from Davidson’s particular form of naturalism, which in his philosophy of mind gets expressed in the way he configures the mental/physical distinction as a conceptual as opposed to an ontological distinction, as well as how it provides him with new avenues of response to two influential criticisms anomalous monism has faced. I finish by explaining the Kantian significance that mental vocabulary has for Davidson in this a-ontological landscape.

Publication details

Published in:

(2013) Pragmatism and the social dimension of doubt. European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy 5 (2).

DOI: 10.4000/ejpap.555

Full citation:

Fennell John (2013) „Davidsonian naturalism and "a-ontological" philosophy of mind“. European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy 5 (2), n/a.