Mental Causation without the Language of Thought

Abstract

Here is a familiar kind of story. Harry believes that there is coffee to the right and beer to the left. His belief that there is coffee to the right explains, when combined with certain desires, his moving right; his belief that there is beer to the left explains, when combined with certain other desires, his moving left. The beliefs play different causal explanatory roles. Accordingly, we need to acknowledge individual beliefs conceived of as distinct, presumably internal, states of subjects that are thus able to play distinct causal roles—or so it seems.

I am much indebted to philosophical exchanges, some supporting and some dissenting, with Michael Devitt, Georges Rey, Karen Neander, and most especially David Braddon-Mitchell, Philip Pettit, and David Lewis.