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2022-03-29

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cc by (c) Couto, Diana, 2022
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/216603

Can There be Thought Without Words?-Donald Davidson on Language and Animal Minds

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-022-09801-5

Abstract

In a couple of short papers, Donald Davidson holds that a creature cannot think unless it is the interpreter of the speech of another. At frst blush, speaking a language is, therefore, a necessary condition for thought. His controversial claims has led many to regard him as a follower of the Cartesian tradition wherein languageless creatures are nothing but mindless machines. Against this widely shared interpretation, in this paper we put forward a more charitable interpretation of Davidson’s claims. According to our reading, Davidson never meant to argue that languageless creatures do not think. Instead, the only thing his arguments purport to show is that one will never be in a position to confrm that they do. This paper consists of a defense of the idea that Davidson is better seen as endorsing radical skepticism as to whether languageless creatures think.

Subject

Interpretació (Filosofia), Filosofia del llenguatge, Pensament, Creença i dubte, Triangulació

Subject (English)

Interpretation (Philosophy), Philosophy of language, Thinking, Belief and doubt, Triangulation

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Articles publicats en revistes (Filosofia)

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COUTO, Diana. Can There be Thought Without Words?-Donald Davidson on Language and Animal Minds. Topoi. An International Review of Philosophy. 2022. Vol. 41, num. 3, pags. 587-598. ISSN 0167-7411. [consulted: 11 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/216603

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