12. Believe it or not
Here’s a neat argument from Donald Davidson, found in his 1975 paper, ‘Thought and Talk.’
Can a creature have a belief if it does not have the concept of belief? It seems to me it cannot, and for this reason. Someone cannot have a belief unless he understands the possibility of being mistaken, and this requires grasping the contrast between truth and error – true belief and false belief.
What is Davidson’s bottom line and how is he proposing to get there?
To have a belief, one must understand the possibility of being mistaken | | To understsand the possibility of being mistaken, one must grasp the contrast between true belief and false belief | | To grasp the contrast between true belief and false belief, one must have the concept of belief |
↓
To have a belief, one must have the concept of belief |