PHL340H1 Lecture Notes - Noam Chomsky, Propositional Attitude, Materialism
Document Summary
Hypothesis: language had to be innate because: When i desire some proposition the cat is on the mat , there is a sentence which expresses that proposition: a sentence is in the lot, the sentence is physically realized in the brain. What is physically realized? if you open up the brain, scan the brain, you will see it the problem was: propositions are abstract entities does not a location in space, time, no physical form, etc. Stan how many propositions are there: two tokens of one type. **the propositions in propositional attitudes occur in the mind as sentences that express the propositions: lot: the sentences are built up from constituents by an orderly syntax the sentences are physically realized in the brain. Syntax vs. semantics semantics (or meaning) of brain states is relational: same program vs. different applications (store inventory program) different relationships (hardware vs. groceries)
