Abstract
Philosophers and social scientists have written of people or peoples holding various conceptual schemes. In “The Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme”, Donald Davidson (1984d) argues that such talk is either hyperbole or incoherent. On the one hand, he explains, there is little to be excited about in the differences that can defensibly be alluded to in connection with such formulations. On the other hand, he insists, the radical differences envisioned in much talk of conceptual schemes are incoherent. Much can be learned from careful examinations of Davidson’s position. However, I argue that it mistakenly papers over the real possibility of rather deep differences in beliefs, theories, and concepts — the sorts of differences that have interested many proponents of conceptual schemes. I examine the form of interpretive practice (or translation) that can lead us to unproblematically posit such differences. While I agree with Davidson that the disagreements we find in interpretation will rest upon a background of found agreement, this does not preclude the sort of differences that many have thought to differentiate conceptual schemes.
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Henderson, D.K. (1994). Conceptual Schemes after Davidson. In: Preyer, G., Siebelt, F., Ulfig, A. (eds) Language, Mind and Epistemology. Synthese Library, vol 241. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2041-0_9
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