ALEF SEMINAR – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25. 18.00 EET  HYBRID

Maria Forsberg – Stockholm University

Title: Evading Mandelbaum’s Dilemma

ABSTRACT: In an influential paper, Mandelbaum argues that Gendler’s characterisation of alief (Gendler 2008a, 2008b) suggests that alief either has propositional content or associative content, and that this gives rise to a dilemma. On the first horn, if alief has propositional content, then alief is not a robust notion. On the second horn, if alief has associative content, then the account fails to do the explanatory work set out for it. Either way, the account fails. (Mandelbaum 2013) Recently, Danón has suggested that we adjust the alief account (Danón 2021). Her proposal is that we should assign what she calls semi-structured propositional content to alief. According to Danón, this would allow us to evade the dilemma. It would also allow us to explain the peculiar features of aliefs. I argue that attributing semi-structured propositional content has none of the advantages mentioned by Danón. However, since Mandelbaum’s argument is unsound, Gendler’s account is left untouched. I finish off by clarifying the success conditions of the account put forward by Gendler, and by offering, in light of these conditions, a new challenge for the alief theorist.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83691371602?pwd=Ym1tQWhIWTlTbDJ4YmNwNFRRaFBIZz09

Meeting ID: 836 9137 1602

Passcode: 097096