?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=A+Conflation+of+Folk+Psychologies%3A+A+Commentary+on+Stich's+%C2%93What+is+a+Theory+of+Mental+Representation%3F%C2%94&rft.creator=O%C2%92Brien%2C+Gerard&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.description=Stich+begins+his+paper+%22What+is+a+Theory+of+Mental+Representation%3F%22+(1992)+by+noting+that+while%0Athere+is+a+dizzying+range+of+theories+of+mental+representation+in+today's+philosophical+market%0Aplace%2C+there+is+very+little+self-conscious+reflection+about+what+a+theory+of+mental+representation+is%0Asupposed+to+do.+This+is+quite+remarkable%2C+he+thinks%2C+because+if+we+bother+to+engage+in+such%0Areflection%2C+some+very+surprising+conclusions+begin+to+emerge.+The+most+surprising+conclusion+of%0Aall%2C+according+to+Stich%2C+is+that+most+of+the+philosophers+in+this+field+are+undertaking+work+that+is%0Aquite+futile%3A%0AIt+is+my+contention+that+most+of+the+players+in+this+very+crowded+field+have+no+coherent+project%0Athat+could+possibly+be+pursued+successfully+with+the+methods+they+are+using.+(p.244)%0AStich+readily+admits+that+this+is+a+startling+conclusion%3B+so+startling%2C+he+thinks%2C+that+some+may+even%0Atake+it+as+an+indication+that+he+has+simply+%22failed+to+figure+out+what+those+who+are+searching+for%0Aa+theory+of+mental+representation+are+up+to%22+(p.244).+But+it+is+a+conclusion+that+he+is+willing+to%0Astand+by%2C+and+he+sets+about+it+defending+it+in+the+body+of+his+paper.%0AStich%2C+I+think%2C+is+right+about+this%C2%97I+do+take+his+conclusion+to+indicate+that+he+has+failed+to%0Afigure+out+what+those+who+are+searching+for+a+theory+of+mental+representation+are+up+to.+And+he%0Ahas+failed+to+do+this+largely+because+he+has+failed+to+distinguish+between+the+theory+of+mind+that+is%0Aimplicit+in+our+folk+psychology+and+the+mental+mechanism+that+is+responsible+for+our+capacity+to%0Amake+folk+psychological+judgements.+When+this+conflation+is+undone%2C+so+too+is+the+reasoning+that%0Atakes+Stich+to+his+startling+conclusion.+This+is+not+to+say+that+the+conclusion+itself+is+clearly+false%3B+it%0Ais+merely+to+say+that+Stich+has+failed+to+show+that+it+is+true.%0AIn+what+follows+I+will+defend+this+analysis+of+Stich's+self-conscious+reflections+on+what+a%0Atheory+of+mental+representation+is+supposed+to+do.+I+will+begin+with+a+very+brief+exposition+of%0AStich's+survey+of+the+logical+terrain+in+this+part+of+the+philosophical+landscape+and+the+line+of%0Areasoning+that+subsequently+delivers+up+the+aforementioned+conclusion.+I+will+then+go+on+to%0Aargue+that+the+latter+line+of+reasoning+is+fundamentally+misdirected+because+of+an+error+in+the%0Aformer+survey.&rft.publisher=Research+School+of+Social+Sciences&rft.contributor=Neander%2C+K&rft.contributor=Ravenscroft%2C+I&rft.date=1993&rft.type=Book+Chapter&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1450%2F3%2FA_Conflation_of_Folk_Psychologies.pdf&rft.identifier=++O%C2%92Brien%2C+Gerard++(1993)+A+Conflation+of+Folk+Psychologies%3A+A+Commentary+on+Stich's+%C2%93What+is+a+Theory+of+Mental+Representation%3F%C2%94.++%5BBook+Chapter%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1450%2F