In Three Kinds of Intentional Psychology, the philosopher Daniel Dennett has proposed to legitimize the use of the intentional vocabulary in cognitive psychology by building a new sort of theory, the so-called intentional-system theory. The aim of the theory is to provide belief/desire explanations and predictions of human behaviour based on a fundamental assumption of (idealized) rationality. Stephen Stich has famously formulated a series of objections to Dennett's proposal based on the observation that the human cognitive system is affected by systematic irrationality. In this paper, I critically analyse the debate between Dennett and Stich on human rationality in light of the most recent findings in the field of the (evolutionary) psychology of reasoning.

Intentional system theory and rationality

Calzavarini F.
2018-01-01

Abstract

In Three Kinds of Intentional Psychology, the philosopher Daniel Dennett has proposed to legitimize the use of the intentional vocabulary in cognitive psychology by building a new sort of theory, the so-called intentional-system theory. The aim of the theory is to provide belief/desire explanations and predictions of human behaviour based on a fundamental assumption of (idealized) rationality. Stephen Stich has famously formulated a series of objections to Dennett's proposal based on the observation that the human cognitive system is affected by systematic irrationality. In this paper, I critically analyse the debate between Dennett and Stich on human rationality in light of the most recent findings in the field of the (evolutionary) psychology of reasoning.
2018
109
3
355
382
Human irrationality; Intentional system theory; Rationality assumption
Calzavarini F.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1990986
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