François RecanatiPhilosophie du langage et de l'espritCollège de FranceAnnée 2024-2025Colloque - Discourse FilesVariables Keep Them(selves) separateGabor BrodyYale UniversityRésuméDiscourse referents are "mental files" insofar as they are mental representations that function like variables: they architecturally separate addresses from contents. I argue for a construal of discourse referents in which they are not mental files in other respects. First, discourse referents are not addressed by sortal, kind, or noun-type descriptive information; consequently, they cannot account for developmental phenomena such as Mutual Exclusivity. Second, unlike mental files, discourse referents are components of the grammatical system rather than the general belief system. Third, unlike mental files, discourse referents cannot be merged or linked via identity statements.Gabor BrodyGabor Brody is a Research Scientist and Lecturer at Yale University, working at the the Department of Psychology, affiliated with the Department of Linguistics and the Program in Cognitive Science. His work explores infants', children's, and adults' ability to keep track of and communicate about objects, concepts, and agents.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related