Foundations of Understanding

Editorial page
......Page 3
Title page
......Page 4

Copyright page......Page 5
Table of contents 
......Page 6
Acknowledgements
......Page 10
CHAPTER ONE  Introduction
......Page 12
1. Intentionality
......Page 15
2. Understanding
......Page 18
3. The experience of understanding
......Page 20
4. A foundationalist theory of conscious 
understanding......Page 24
5. Plan of the book
......Page 29
Note......Page 30
1. Background......Page 32
2. The sensorimotor theory and mental models......Page 36
3. Evidence from human reasoning......Page 42
4. Evidence from brain organization......Page 47
5. Ape cognition and evolution......Page 56
7. Objections......Page 60
8. Conclusion......Page 63
Notes......Page 64
1. Introduction: Searle\'s challenge
......Page 66
2. Understanding our actions......Page 68
3. Provisional characterization (1)
......Page 69
4. Provisional characterization (2)......Page 71
5. Provisional characterization (3)......Page 75
6. Final characterization (4)......Page 81
7. Searle\'s understanding......Page 83
Notes......Page 84
1. Introduction: object use as foundational......Page 86
2. Object perception......Page 87
3. Object understanding as conceptual......Page 89
4. Meaningfulness vs. correct meaning......Page 90
5. Meaningful objects......Page 91
6. Characterizing object understanding......Page 94
7. First approximation......Page 96
8. Second approximation......Page 98
9. Third approximation......Page 100
10. Imagining objects: the problem of illusion......Page 101
11. Kinds of objects......Page 105
12. Conclusion: objects and objectivity......Page 107
Note......Page 109
1. Introduction: understanding the mind-world distinction......Page 110
2. Error as the basis of the mind-world distinction......Page 112
3. Action error......Page 113
4. Action planning and external reality......Page 121
5. Action, belief, and metaphor......Page 123
6. The bifurcation of cognitive understanding......Page 124
Notes......Page 125
1. From actions and objects to language......Page 128
2. Persons, understanding and communication......Page 129
3. Understanding as knowing how......Page 130
4. Literal and metaphorical understanding......Page 131
5. The mechanism of metaphorical understanding......Page 133
6. The infant\'s \'theory of mind\'......Page 134
7. Understanding the actions of others......Page 138
8. Understanding 
persons......Page 144
9. The intentional stance and metaphorical understanding
......Page 145
10. Imitation and communication
......Page 147
11. Conclusion......Page 148
1. Introduction: language as a tool......Page 150
2. Language production as tool use......Page 153
3. The neuroanatomy of language production
......Page 156
5. Language understanding and imagery......Page 157
6. Images are multimodal......Page 158
7. The descriptionalist challenge......Page 159
8. Understanding and image creation......Page 162
9. Imagery and indeterminacy......Page 164
10. Imagery and abstraction......Page 165
11. Imagery and mental models......Page 167
12. Combining the two aspects of language understanding......Page 168
Notes......Page 172
1. The phenomenality of conscious experience 
......Page 174
2. Characterizing conscious experience......Page 177
3. Externality......Page 179
4. Unity......Page 183
5. Self-awareness......Page 186
6. Awareness itself......Page 197
1. Summary......Page 204
2. The preeminence of the linguistic paradigm......Page 206
3. Understanding and semantic structure: iceberg and tip......Page 207
References......Page 210
Index......Page 218