Guillot, Marie (2016) Thinking of oneself as the thinker: the concept of self and the phenomenology of intellection. Philosophical Explorations, 19 (2). pp. 138-160. DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/13869795.2016.1176232
Guillot, Marie (2016) Thinking of oneself as the thinker: the concept of self and the phenomenology of intellection. Philosophical Explorations, 19 (2). pp. 138-160. DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/13869795.2016.1176232
Guillot, Marie (2016) Thinking of oneself as the thinker: the concept of self and the phenomenology of intellection. Philosophical Explorations, 19 (2). pp. 138-160. DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/13869795.2016.1176232
Abstract
The indexical word “I” has traditionally been assumed to be an overt analogue to the concept of self, and the best model for understanding it. This approach, I argue, overlooks the essential role of cognitive phenomenology in the mastery of the concept of self. I suggest that a better model is to be found in a different kind of representation: phenomenal concepts or more generally phenomenally grounded concepts. I start with what I take to be the defining feature of the concept of self, namely its “super-reflexivity”: to use this concept is not just to think of oneself, but to think of oneself as the thinker of the present thought. I call this familiar observation the “Thinker Intuition”. I review some shortcomings of the indexical model of the concept of self, which is the classical account of the Thinker Intuition. I go on to propose a different account, the “phenomenal model”, according to which the concept of self is a phenomenally grounded concept, anchored in a generic kind of cognitive phenomenology: the phenomenology of intellection.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | the concept of self, super-reflexivity, indexicality, phenomenal concepts, cognitive phenomenology, the phenomenology of intellection |
Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) |
Divisions: | Faculty of Arts and Humanities Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies, School of |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 28 Jun 2017 14:58 |
Last Modified: | 30 Oct 2024 17:08 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/19991 |
Available files
Filename: Guillot_Thinking%20of%20oneself%20as%20the%20thinker_accepted%20manuscript.pdf