🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <Bv9A31.GMx@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> chalmers@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (David Chalmers) writes:
>In article <1992Sep26.010553.19020@sophia.smith.edu> orourke@sophia.smith.edu (Joseph O'Rourke) writes:
>
>>>But are thoughts _just_ dispositions to behave.  I think not.
>>
>>I agree with you here.  Incidentally, I'm not sure Dennett would
>>disagree with this either.  He says quite explicitly (in "Consciousness
>>Explained") that qualia are just complex dispositions to react in
>>certain ways in certain circumstances, but he treats qualia
>>differently from intentional mental states.
>
>Well, no-one has held the simple view "mental states are just
>dispositions to behave" since Gilbert Ryle, and even in Ryle's
>case it's not clear that his position was so simple 

Ok, but the reason I asked whether thoughts were just dispositions
was that some people were offering arguments for the view that
beliefs were just dispositions.  They evidently thought this was
a plausible view of belief.  But the same arguments (eg, what
would you say when asked the right question?) would work just
as well for thoughts.  So if they don't think the same about
thoughts, this should get them have similar doubts when it
comes to belief.

-- jd