Lexicon of Arguments

 

I 250
Nominalism/Identification/Millikan: Thesis: Identifying involves a series of responses of the same kind to the world.
>Identification, >Individuation, >Individual, >Properties/Millikan.
E.g. to identify "red" means to use the expression repeatedly, or to have the corresponding inner reaction again as an identification-as-the-same-again.
Identity/Sameness/Millikan: However, the nominalism believes, thesis: that many of the things that we identify in this way are not really self-identical! The sameness is constituted only by the act of identification.
I 251
Nominalism/Millikan: is particularly skeptical with regard to the identity of properties and species, which leads to the riddle, which again occurs for the same word or the same mental reaction.
Cf. >Universal, >Sortal.
Repetition/Millikan: E.g. Sneezing is a reaction with the same noise on an equal stimulus, but nothing is identified here. E.g. adrenaline rush: the same reaction as within other people on the same stimulus: danger. But also no identification.
Convention/Solution/Hobbes: Words are conventional, sneezing is not.
MillikanVsNominalism: it has to somehow explain, what the difference is between representation and mere occurrence. Its definition of identification as repeated use of a word is circular.
((s) in order to be able to repeat the word with reason, the object must be identified before). How can the application of a word help to recognize an object?
Learning/MillikanVsNominalism: how can repeating words help us learn about things? The repetition of an equal reaction on a later occasion is rather a sign that nothing has been learned.
>Learning.