The Classical Theory of Mind III

Abstract

The goals of this chapter are, firstly, to develop the formal model of CTM further, especially with respect to the mind’s a priori synthetic propositions and a priori synthetic knowledge; secondly, to integrate the psychic-cell ontology and architecture of Chapter 8 into the broader CTM scheme, as set out in Chapter 7, to obtain a unified account of the mind; and thirdly, to show how the formation of the complex symbolic system of an individual mind is determined by the mind’s socio-linguistic and physical environment, and how its external, public symbols derive their significance from its internal symbols. Accordingly, there will be three sections: (i) on the symbolic system, representation, and cognitive processes of a single, deep-layer, long-term-store psychic cell; (ii) on the mind as a system of psychic cells; (in) on the mind’s public affairs, linguistic and other. In Chapter 10, I will use the a priori synthetic and analytic methods to resolve the so-called “Russell’s paradox”, which has been characteristic of the Analytic tradition, and the treatment of which clearly separates CTM from that tradition.