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The Non-Reificatory Approach to Belief

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  • Presents a timely defense of a non-reificatory notion of belief

  • Argues that the attachment of the behaviourist label to Ryle and Wittgenstein is unjustified

  • Explains how the non-reificatory approach was born out of the ordinary language philosophy of the twentieth century

  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Approaching the Mind

    • Richard Floyd
    Pages 1-26
  3. Belief and Explanation

    • Richard Floyd
    Pages 57-86
  4. The Positive Account of Belief

    • Richard Floyd
    Pages 121-162
  5. Where Did It All Go Wrong?

    • Richard Floyd
    Pages 163-204
  6. Conclusion

    • Richard Floyd
    Pages 205-208
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 209-212

About this book

This book argues against the mainstream view that we should treat propositional attitudes as internal states, suggesting that to treat beliefs as things of certain sort (i.e. to reify them) is a mistake. The reificatory view faces several problems that the non-reificatory view avoids, and it is argued the non-reificatory view is more faithful to the everyday concept of belief. There are several major reasons why it might be thought that a reificatory approach to mental states is nevertheless unavoidable, but this book attempts to show that none of these reasons is at all convincing; in each case, the evidence is consistent with a non-reificatory view. Having argued that the popularity of the reificatory view is unjustified, the author examines history of psychology and philosophy of mind, and the structure of psychological language, in order to show that this popularity is quite understandable, but mistaken nonetheless.

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Lancaster, Lancaster, United Kingdom

    Richard Floyd

About the author

Richard Floyd received his PhD from Lancaster University, UK. He has taught philosophy at the Universities of Lancaster, Manchester, and Cumbria. This is his first book.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access