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Quote by Donald Davidson

“Even if someone knew the entire physical history of the world, and every mental event were identical with a physical, it would notfollow that he could predict or explain a single mental event (so described, of course).”

Author

Donald Davidson

Donald Davidson was an American philosopher known for his influential contributions to the fields of philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and epistemology. His work had a profound impact on 20th-century philosophy, particularly in the areas of meaning, truth, and cognitive interpretation. more

“There is no such thing as a language, not if a language is anything like what many philosophers and linguists have supposed. Thereis therefore no such thing to be learned, mastered, or born with. We must give up the idea of a clearly defined shared structure which language-users acquire and then apply to cases.”

Ifs Giving Ideas Language Born Cases Giving Up Structure Philosopher Defined Acquire Users Linguistics Relativism Linguists

Author:Donald Davidson

“Mental events such as perceivings, rememberings, decisions, and actions resist capture in the net of physical theory.”

Action Remember Decision Events Theory Capture

Book:Essays on Actions and Events: Philosophical Essays

Source: Essays on Actions and Events: Philosophical Essays

“If we cannot find a way to interpret the utterances and other behaviour of a creature as revealing a set of beliefs largely consistent and true by our standards, we have no reason to count that creature as rational, as having beliefs, or as saying anything.”

Ifs Way Reason Belief Creatures Standards Rational Consistent No Reason Behaviour Rationality Revealing Utterance

Author:Donald Davidson

“Conceptual relativism is a heady and exotic doctrine, or would be if we could make good sense of it. The trouble is, as so often in philosophy, it is hard to improve intelligibility while retaining the excitement.”

Ifs Hard Philosophy Would Be Trouble Doctrine Excitement Good Sense Exotic Relativism Retaining