Beyond concepts : unicepts, language, and natural information /

Ruth Garrett Millikan presents a highly original account of cognition, of how we get to grips with the world in thought. The question at the heart of her book is Kant's 'How is knowledge possible?', but answered from a contemporary naturalist standpoint. The starting assumption is tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Millikan, Ruth Garrett (Author)
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, [2017].
Edition:	First edition.
Subjects:	Knowledge, Theory of.

Table of Contents:

pt. I Unicepts
Introduction to Part I
0.1. Overview
0.2. Selection Processes
0.3. Ontology and Language
0.4. Unicepts and Unitrackers
0.5. Organization and Method
0.6. Acknowledgments
1. Clumpy World
1.1. Overview
1.2. Real Kinds
1.3. Reproduction and Mass Production
1.4. Historical Kinds
1.5. Individuals
1.6. Eternal Kinds
1.7. Shapes and Divisions of Historical Kind Clumps
1.8. Real Categories
2. Direct Reference for Extensional Terms
2.1. Overview
2.2. Conventions of Language
2.3. Following Precedent
2.4. Direct Reference to Clumps
2.5. Identifying through Language
2.6. Real Definitions
2.7. Names for Properties
2.8. Boundaries and Slippage
2.9. Communication with Names for Clumps and Peaks
3. Introducing Unitrackers and Unicepts
3.1. Overview
3.2. Initial Examples of Unitracker Function
3.3. Discarding Concepts
3.4. Details on the Nature and Function of Unicepts
3.5. Life Span and Growth of Unitrackers and Unicepts
3.6. How Names Connect with Unicepts
3.7. Role of Language in Unicept Development
3.8. On Modeling Unicepts
4. Functions of Same-Tracking
4.1. Overview
4.2. Perceptual Constancy Mechanisms
4.3. Self-Relative Location Trackers
4.4. Object Constancy
4.5. Same-Tracking for Application of Unicept Templates
4.6. Practical Stuffs and Affording Unicepts
4.7. Factic Unicepts: Substantive and Attributive
4.8. Two Closing Remarks
5. How Unicepts Get Their Referents
5.1. Overview
5.2. How Unicept Referents Are Fixed: The Quarry
5.3. Two General Principles Concerning Functions
5.4. Imprinting
5.5. More General Mechanisms for Priming Unitrackers
5.6. Some Mechanisms that Set Targets, Specifically, for Affording Unicepts
5.7. Problem of Location-Detached Signs
5.8. Third General Principle: Proxy Functions
5.9. Natural Epistemology for Substantive and Attributive Unicepts
6. Misrepresentation, Redundancy, Equivocity, Emptiness (and Swampman)
6.1. Overview
6.2. Failures of Biological Function
6.3. False Beliefs
6.4. Redundant Unitrackers and Fregean Senses
6.5. Equivocepts
6.6. Vacucepts
6.7. How Unicepts Fit with Biosemantics
6.8. Swampman
7. Philosophical Analysis; Referents of Names: Theory Change; Observation versus Theory; Theory of Mind
7.1. Overview
7.2. Philosophical Analysis
7.3. Referents of Names
7.4. Theory Change in Science
7.5. Observation versus Theory
7.6. "Theory of Mind"
pt. II Infosigns, Intentional Signs, and their Interpretation
8. Introduction to Part II
8.1. Overview
8.2. Infosigns and Natural Information
8.3. Infosigns and Intentional Signs
8.4. Interpreting Linguistic Signs
9. Indexicals and Selfsigns
9.1. Overview
9.2. Assumptions to be Questioned
9.3. Components of Conventional Linguistic Signs
9.4. Preliminary Examples of Selfsigning Components
9.5. Indexicals and Demonstratives
9.6. Addendum on Intensional Contexts
10. Anatomy of Signs
10.1. Overview
10.2. Project
10.3. Infosigns Are Always Articulate and Often Productive
10.4. Equivocal Infosigns
10.5. Infosign Systems and Families
10.6. Variants and Invariants; Embedded Infosign Families
10.7. Taxonomy of Infosign Variables
10.8. How a Language Is Put Together
11. Infosigns and Natural Information
11.1. Overview
11.2. Project
11.3. Examples of Nonintentional Infosigns
11.4. Causal Connections; Dretske on Natural Information
11.5. Correlational Information
11.6. Reference Class Problem
11.7. Addressing the Reference Class Problem
11.8. Using Infosigns
11.9. Correlations between Types of States of Affairs
11.10. Infosign Strength and Response Strength
11.11. Redundancy
11.12. Metacorrelations
11.13. Indirect Infosigns; Indirect Natural Information
12. Intentional Signs
12.1. Overview
12.2. Project
12.3. Intentional Infosigns
12.4. Intentional Signs and Stabilizing Functions
12.5. Pure and Impure Intentional Signs
12.6. Entwining of Intentional Content and Nonintentional Information
12.7. Intentional Signs Used by Non-Human Animals
12.8. Maps, Charts, Diagrams, Graphs
12.9. Extending the Senses
12.10. Inner Representations
13. Linguistic Signs
13.1. Overview
13.2. Topic
13.3. Semantic Meaning
13.4. Communicating with Language: The Broad Picture
13.5. Meta-Regularities and Extra-Semantic Infocontent
13.6. Grice's Conversational Maxims
13.7. Far-Side Pragmatic Meaning, or Semantic Meaning?
13.8. Addendum: Gricean Temptations
14. Perception, Especially Perception through Language
14.1. Overview
14.2. Project
14.3. Perception as Sign Reading
14.4. Attached and Detached Signs, with an aside on Animal Cognition
14.5. Genuine Perception Thought of as Certain
14.6. Contents of Perceptual Experience
14.7. Translating Linguistic Signs into Understanding
14.8. Replies to Objections
15. Markers of Identity and Grounded Infosigns
15.1. Overview
15.2. Selfsigns of Identity: Duplicate Markers; Strawson Markers
15.3. Anaphoric Signs of Identity
15.4. Grounding as Indicating Identity
15.5. Situated Signs; Counting up Signs
15.6. Recognizing Identity: A Reminder
16. Out-Side Pragmatics: Descriptions, Quantifiers, Directives
16.1. Overview
16.2. Three Kinds of Referent
16.3. Functions of the Definite and Indefinite Articles
16.4. Quantifiers, Possessives, and Proper Names
16.5. Thumbnail Review of Basic Themes.