Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id DAA29047 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Mon, 7 May 2001 03:11:23 +0100 Message-Id: <5.0.2.1.0.20010506200502.020e0ec0@pop3.htcomp.net> X-Sender: mmills@pop3.htcomp.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.0.2 Date: Sun, 06 May 2001 20:14:52 -0500 To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk From: Mark Mills <mmills@htcomp.net> Subject: Re: Information In-Reply-To: <3AF5ECA7.4F801F8A@wehi.edu.au> References: <3AED8233.15786.6E25AE@localhost> <20010501175304.A1297@ii01.org> <3AEEB6DE.18806.39FF8D@localhost> <20010502094920.A752@ii01.org> <3AF0B02C.605EB5F@wehi.edu.au> <20010504101910.A533@ii01.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
John Wilkins wrote,
At 10:30 AM 5/7/01 +1000, you wrote:
>There is a philosophical conundrum known as the "linguistic prison" - in
>order to discuss things we must cast them in liguistic terms, but we are
>discussing in the areas of truth and mind matters that cannot be so cast
>without prejudicing the argument - in short, whereof one cannot speak,
>thereof one must be silent (and as some wag had it, "and you can't
>whistle it either"). How meaning is encoded is very much context
>relative - see Dretske's book. The encoding protocol used determines the
>meaning of a message at receiver.
This seems to presuppose the externalist premiss that there is nothing but
a blank slate from the skin in.
If all people have a similar set of conceptual dispositions, dispostions to
create stories for instance, then one can lead a 'listener' through an
exercise in perceptional chains with somewhat predictable results. The
message may not be one that can be 'spoken,' but a predictable mental state
may be replicated (communicated) to the listener.
In Wittgensteinian terms, 'of what one cannot speak, one must be
indirect.' Wittgenstein was a confirmed externalist, so he would naturally
disagree. Example of this are mass marketers in great multitudes. Eastern
spirtual advisors do the same thing, too.
BTW, I thought you hated the 'encoding' notion...
Mark
http://www.htcomp.net/markmills
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