Reconciling representationalism : an ontological solution

Abstract

For centuries, the ontological question of representation has plagued the philosophical tradition: does the mind represent the external world? By taking a critical perspective, I will briefly survey the philosophical literature and analyze the usage of representation in modern philosophical and scientific circles, providing a historical context for the ontological question of representation. After determining that modern philosophy and cognitive science is, counter intuitively, moving away from the representational stance, I then look back on the twentieth century and give an examination of the roots of the anti-representationalist paradigm, focusing on the work of Martin Heidegger, James Gibson, and the proponents of dynamic systems theory. Through the use of Heideggerian phenomenological-ontology, I propose an ontological solution to the problem of mental representation. By taking an ecumenical phenomenological approach, I recast the dichotomy between representationalism and non-representationalism into a derivative continuum, focusing on how the phenomena of mental content, and thus representation, only arises in breakdown cases of our normal ontological familiarity. After having contrasted this conception of our Being with the metaphysics of Descartes, I explain how we can avoid dualism while maintaining the phenomenology of "thinking" which has been typical of the philosophical tradition.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2008

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Gallagher, Shaun

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Degree Program

History

Subjects

Arts and Humanities -- Dissertations, Academic;Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Humanities

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0022320

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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