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1 Belief-that and Belief-in: Which Reductive Analysis? Uriah Kriegel Forthcoming in A. Gzrankowski & M. Montague, Non-Propositional Intentionality (OUP) Abstract. Let propositionalism be the thesis that all mental attitudes are propositional. Anti- propositionalists typically point at apparently non-propositional attitudes, such as fearing a dog and loving a spouse, and play defense against attempts at propositional analysis of such attitudes. Here I explore the anti-propositionalist’s prospects for going on the offensive, trying to show that some apparently propositional attitudes, notably belief and judgment, can be given non-propositional analysis. Although the notion that belief is a non-propositional attitude may seem ludicrous at first, it is admirably defended by Franz Brentano, whose analysis I propose to expound, update, and deepen here. The basic strategy can be thought of as follows. First, although the grammar of belief-that reports clearly suggests a propositional attitude, the grammar of belief-in reports suggests instead an ‘objectual’ attitude. Second, with some ingenuity all belief-that reports can be paraphrased into belief-in reports. Third, given certain general considerations, this paraphraseability recommends the view that the psychological reality of belief states is objectual rather than propositional. Nonetheless, I will argue, there are two very real costs associated with this non-propositional analysis of belief. Introduction On the face of it, some of our psychological attitudes are propositional and some are objectual. Judging that the weather is nice is propositional, liking ice cream is objectual. 1 Some philosophers have claimed that this is an illusion, and in fact all attitudes are propositional. Thus, John Perry writes: The phenomenon of intentionality suggests that attitudes are essentially relational in nature: they involve relations to the propositions at which they are directed… An attitude
Transcript

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Belief-thatandBelief-in:WhichReductiveAnalysis?

UriahKriegel

ForthcominginA.Gzrankowski&M.Montague,Non-PropositionalIntentionality(OUP)

Abstract.Letpropositionalismbethethesisthatallmentalattitudesarepropositional.Anti-

propositionaliststypicallypointatapparentlynon-propositionalattitudes,suchasfearingadog

andlovingaspouse,andplaydefenseagainstattemptsatpropositionalanalysisofsuch

attitudes.HereIexploretheanti-propositionalist’sprospectsforgoingontheoffensive,tryingto

showthatsomeapparentlypropositionalattitudes,notablybeliefandjudgment,canbegiven

non-propositionalanalysis.Althoughthenotionthatbeliefisanon-propositionalattitudemay

seemludicrousatfirst,itisadmirablydefendedbyFranzBrentano,whoseanalysisIproposeto

expound,update,anddeepenhere.Thebasicstrategycanbethoughtofasfollows.First,

althoughthegrammarofbelief-thatreportsclearlysuggestsapropositionalattitude,the

grammarofbelief-inreportssuggestsinsteadan‘objectual’attitude.Second,withsome

ingenuityallbelief-thatreportscanbeparaphrasedintobelief-inreports.Third,givencertain

generalconsiderations,thisparaphraseabilityrecommendstheviewthatthepsychological

realityofbeliefstatesisobjectualratherthanpropositional.Nonetheless,Iwillargue,thereare

twoveryrealcostsassociatedwiththisnon-propositionalanalysisofbelief.

Introduction

Onthefaceofit,someofourpsychologicalattitudesarepropositionalandsomeare

objectual.Judgingthattheweatherisniceispropositional,likingicecreamis

objectual.1Somephilosophershaveclaimedthatthisisanillusion,andinfactall

attitudesarepropositional.Thus,JohnPerrywrites:

Thephenomenonofintentionalitysuggeststhatattitudesareessentiallyrelationalin

nature:theyinvolverelationstothepropositionsatwhichtheyaredirected…Anattitude

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seemstobeindividuatedbytheagent,thetypeofattitude(belief,desire,etc.),andthe

propositionatwhichitisdirected.(Perry1994:387-8)

Otherphilosophershaveinsistedthatnotallattitudesarepropositional–someare

objectual.HereisMichelleMontague:

Simplyput,objectualattitudesresistapropositionalistanalysis.MarylovesNancy.Sheseeks

thefountainofyouth.Shehasyouinmind.Shecontemplatesthesky.ShewantsNancy’scar.

Theseintentionalattitudesappeartoberelationsthatholdsimplybetweenthinkersand

non-propositionalobjects,ratherthanbetweenthinkersandpropositions.(Montague2007:507)

Veryfewphilosophershaveheldthatinfactnoattitudesarepropositional–thatall

areobjectual.PerhapsHumeheldthisview.Onephilosopherwhocertainlydidis

FranzBrentano.Brentanoexplicitlywritesthat‘Allmentalreferencesreferto

things’(Brentano1911:291),wherea‘thing’isanindividualobjectorconcrete

particular.Hisargumentforthiscannotbeappreciatedwithoutadetailedaccount

ofhisentirephilosophyofmind.Shortonspace,hereIwillrestrictmyselftohis

caseforthethesisthatjudgmentisanobjectualattitude.Thisthesiswouldalready

beoffirstimportance,sincejudgmentandbeliefarecustomarilytakentobethe

paradigmaticpropositionalattitudes.Thisseemsantecedentlyveryplausible:you

canloveJane,butyoucannotjudgeJane(intherelevantsense),orjudgethatJane.

Andyet,Iwillargue,Brentano’scaseforanobjectualistaccountofjudgmentis

surprisinglycompelling.Althoughthecasehassomelocalholesinit,Iwillargue

thattheycanbefilledreasonablysatisfactorily.

Istart,in§1,withsomebackgroundonBrentano’snotionofjudgment,asit

emergesfromhisclassificationofmentalstates.In§2,Iofferaninitialexpositionof

hisobjectualistaccountofjudgmentforanalyticphilosophers.In§3,Ireconstruct

andtightenBrentano’scasefortheobjectualistaccount.In§4,Iconsidersomekey

objections.

1. JudgmentinBrentano’sTaxonomyofMentalStates

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ThetaskofChap.5-8ofBookIIofBrentano’sPsychologyfromanEmpirical

Standpoint(Brentano1874)istoidentifythe‘fundamentalclasses’ofmentalstates.

Hisassumptionisthatthementaldomainisstructuredbygenus/speciesrelations,

sothatsomekindsofmentalstatearespeciesofothers.Forexample,color

experienceisaspeciesofvisualexperience,whichinturnisaspeciesofperceptual

experience.Thehighestgenusissimplymentalstate.WhatBrentanocallsthe

‘fundamentalclasses’aretheclassesorkindsofmentalstatewhicharespeciesof

onlyonehighergenus.Thatis,theyarespeciesonlyofthegenusmentalstate.

(Comparecolorexperience,whichisaspeciesofthegenusmentalstateaswell,but

alsoofothergenera,suchasvisualexperienceandperceptualexperience.)What

Brentanoseeksinhis‘fundamentalclassification,’then,arethehighestmental

generasavethehighestone,i.e.thesecond-to-highestmentalgenera.

AccordingtoBrentano,therearethreesuchclasses:presentationor

apprehension(Vorstellung),judgment(Urteil),and‘interest’(Interesse)or‘emotion’

(Gemütsbewegungen)(Brentano1874:198).Healsoclaimsthatjudgmentand

interestare‘groundedin’presentations(1874:80,198),2butappearstoalsoallowa

presentationtooccurwithoutgroundingotherstates.Unlikepresentation,

judgmentandinterestareeachdividedintotwoopposingkinds:judgmentinto

acceptance(Anerkennung)andrejection(Verwerfung),interestintolove(Liebe)and

hate(Hasse).3Letusconsidereachclassinturn.4

ThefundamentalclassBrentanocallsjudgmentcoversanymentalstatethat

inthefirstinstancepresentswhatitdoesastrueorfalse(veridicalorfalsidical,

accurateorinaccurate,andsoon):5

By‘judgment’wemean,inaccordancewithcommonphilosophicalusage,acceptance(as

true)orrejection(asfalse).(Brentano1874:198)

Importantly,thisincludesnotonlytheproductsofconceptualthought,suchasbelief

andjudgmentinthemorefamiliarsense,butalsoperceptualexperience.Avisual

experienceofayellowlemonhasveridicalityconditionsinthesamesensebeliefhas

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truthconditions.Bothareinthebusinessofgettingthingsright.Accordingly,

Brentanowritesthat‘allperceptionsarejudgments,whethertheyareinstancesof

knowledgeorjustmistakenaffirmations’(Brentano1874:209).Whatcharacterizes

judgmentisthiskindoftruth-directedness.Notewell:thisisanidiosyncraticuseof

theterm‘judgment,’butitdoesnotunderminethesignificanceofthethesisthatall

judgmentsareobjectualattitudes.Asauniversalthesis,itappliesalsotojudgments

inthemorefamiliarsense,thatofaproductofconceptualthoughtcanonically

reportedwiththeuseof‘that’-clauses.Inotherwords,judgmentsinthefamiliar

senseformasubsetofjudgmentsinBrentano’ssense;soBrentano’sobjectual

accountofthelatteriseoipsoanobjectualaccountoftheformer.

Brentano’ssecondfundamentalclasscoversalargegroupofphenomena,

includingemotion,affect,thewill,andalgedonicexperiencesofpleasureandpain.

Brentanolamentstheabsenceofasatisfactorynameforthisclass,andcallsit

alternately‘interest,’‘emotion,’or(often)‘phenomenaofloveandhate’(Brentano

1874:199).Whatunifiesthephenomenainthiscategoryisthattheypresentwhat

theydoasgoodorbad.Thedeepnatureofthiscategorythuscontrastswiththe

truth-directednessofjudgmentandischaracterizedbygoodness-directedness:

Justaseveryjudgmenttakesanobjecttobetrueorfalse,inananalogouswayevery

phenomenonwhichbelongstothisclasstakesanobjecttobegoodorbad.(Brentano1874:

199;seealso1874:239)

Wantingabeerpresentsbeerasgood,butsodoestakingpleasureinthebeer,

wishingforbeer,likingbeer,decidingonbeer,andsoon.Intruth,themodern

technicalnotionsof‘proattitude’and‘conattitude’areperfecttermsforBrentano’s

positive(‘love’)andnegative(‘hate’)kindsofintereststate.

Brentano’sotherfundamentalclassispresentationorapprehension.6Thisis

supposedtobeanintentionalstatethatinitselfpresentswhatitdoesneitheras

trueorfalsenorasgoodorbad,butinanentirelyneutralmanner.Itsmostgeneral

characterizationisthusthis:‘Wespeakofapresentationwheneversomething

appearstous’(Brentano1874:198).Thisisthesenseinwhichpresentation

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groundsjudgmentandinterest:everystateofjudgmentorinterestisalsoa

presentation,butnoteverypresentationiseitherajudgmentoraninterest.Forto

presentsomethingastrueorgoodyoumustpresentitatall,butyoucanpresent

somethingwithoutpresentingitastrueorgood.Paradigmaticexamplesofthisare

actsofmerelyentertainingorcontemplatingsomething–whenyoucontemplate

something,itappearstoyouneitherastrue/falsenorasgood/bad;itjustappearsto

you.Importantly,however,anymentalstatethatencodescommitmentneitherto

thetruth/falsitynortogoodness/badnessofwhatitpresents(e.g.,supposition)will

qualifyasamerepresentationinBrentano’sclassification.7

ThenotionofpresentationalmodeiscrucialtoBrentano’sclassification.The

ideaisthatdifferentkindsofmentalstatepresentwhattheydoindifferentways.

Thedifferencebetweenthemisnotinwhattheypresentbutinhowtheypresent.

Importantly,Brentano’spresentationalmodesarenotFrege’s–theyarenotaspect

ofastate’s(fine-grained)content,butofitsattitude.Whenyoujudgethat2+2=4,

youarementallycommittingtothetruthof2+2=4.Butthiscommitmentisbuiltinto

theattitudeyouaretakingtoward2+2=4,itdoesnotshowupinthecontentofyour

judgment.Wemightputthisbysayingthatthejudgmentthat2+2=4doesnot

present2+2=4astrue,butratherpresents-as-true2+2=4.Presenting-as-trueisa

modeormodificationofthepresenting.Similarlyfortheotherpresentational

modes.Whenyoudenythat2+2=5,youarementallycommittingtothefalsityof

2+2=5,butthecommitmentisbuiltintotheattitudeofyourdenial:yourdenialdoes

notpresent2+2=5asfalse,butratherpresents-as-false2+2=5.Likewise,yourlove

oficecreampresents-as-goodicecream(ratherthanpresentingicecreamasgood)

andyourdisapprovalofjingoismpresents-as-badjingoism(ratherthanpresenting

jingoismasbad).

Brentano’snotionofjudgment,then,isthenotionofamentalstate

employingthepresentationalmodeofeitherpresenting-as-trueorpresenting-as-

false.Thisincludesmentalstatesthatwedonotnormallycountasjudgments,such

asperceptualexperiences,butinadditionitincludeswhatwedonormallycountas

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judgments–conceptualthoughtscommittedtotheveracityoftheircontents.All

thosestates,accordingtoBrentano,areobjectualattitudes.

2. TheBelief-InTheoryofJudgment

ThecoreofBrentano’stheoryofjudgmentcanberepresentedastheconjunctionof

twotheses.Thefirstisthatalljudgmentsareexistential,thesecondthatthe

existence-commitmentinvolvedinexistentialjudgmentsisanattitudinalpropertyof

theirs.Thatis:

EXISTENTIAL::ForanyjudgmentJ,Jisanexistentialjudgment.

ATTITUDINAL::ForanyexistentialJudgmentE,E’sexistence-commitmentisan

attitudinalpropertyofE.

Inthissection,Iofferapreliminaryexplanationandmotivationofthetwotheses.

Theremainderofthechapterwillconsiderthecasefortheminmoredetail.

AccordingtoEXISTENTIAL,everyjudgmentisinthebusinessofaffirmingor

denyingtheexistenceofsomething.Thusthejudgmentsthattherearemarine

mammalsandthattherearenoflyingdogsareparadigmatic.Weareaccustomedto

thinkthatnotalljudgmentsarelikethis–someareinthebusinessofdoingmore

thanjustaffirmingordenyingtheexistenceofsomething.Many,itisnaturalto

think,involveanelementofpredication:ratherthancommentingonwhatthereis,

theymakeaclaimaboutwhatsomethingislike,whatpropertiesithas.Thus,the

judgmentthatalldogsarecutepredicatescutenessofdogs,thereby‘claiming’that

dogshaveacertainproperty,not(just)thattheyexist.Brentano,however,insists

thatpredicationisanaccidentoflanguagethatdoesnotreflectthepsychological

realityofjudgments.(Moreonthatin§4.)Inreality,judgingthatalldogsarecuteis

justjudgingthatthereisnonon-cutedog.Itthuscommentsonwhatthereisafterall.

Toshowthatthisgeneralizes,Brentanosystematicallygoesoverthefour

typesofcategoricalstatementinAristotle’ssquareofopposition(A,E,I,andO)and

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showsthattheyareallreducibleor‘traceableback’(rückführbar)toexistential

statements(Brentano1874:213-4,1956:121):

(A) <Alldogsarecute>istraceableto<Thereisnotanon-cutedog>.

(E) <Nodogsarecute>istraceableto<Thereisnotacutedog>.

(I) <Somedogsarecute>istraceableto<Thereisacutedog>.

(O) <Somedogsarenotcute>istraceableto<Thereisanon-cutedog>.

Brentano’stalkofstatements‘beingtraceableback’tootherstatementssuggestshe

hassomethinglikeparaphraseinmind:‘Alldogsarecute’isparaphraseableinto

‘Thereisnotanon-cutedog.’Suchstatementscanexpressjudgments,ortheycanbe

embeddedintocorrespondingstatementsthatreportjudgments:‘Sjudgesthatall

dogsarecute’isparaphraseableinto‘Sjudgesthatthereisnonon-cutedog.’8

Onceallcategoricalstatementsareshowntoparaphraseintoexistential

ones,itiseasytoshowthathypotheticalsfollowsuit(Brentano1874:218).9For

example:

(H)<Ifsomedogisthree-legged,thenitiscute>isreducibleto<Thereisnota

non-cutethree-leggeddog>.

Conclusion:

Thereducibility/traceability(Rückführbarkeit)ofcategoricalstatements(Sätze),indeedthe

reducibilityofallstatementswhichexpressajudgment,toexistentialjudgmentsistherefore

indubitable.(Brentano1874:218)

Morecautiously,allstatementsofAristotelianlogicturnouttobedisguised

existentials.Wewillhavetoconsiderothertypesofstatementin§3.

AccordingtoEXISTENTIAL,then,allactsofjudgingareformsofmentally

committingtosomething’sexistenceornonexistence.AccordingtoATTITUDINAL,

now,theexistence-commitmentwhichexistentialjudgmentscarryisanaspectof

theirattituderatherthancontent.Onthisview,mentalcommitmenttotheexistence

ofxisnotanaspectofwhatthejudgmentpresentsbutofhowitdoesthepresenting.

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Inotherwords:anexistentialjudgment’scommitmenttotheexistenceofxisnota

matterofpresentingxasexistent,butamatterofpresenting-as-existentx.Thus,to

judgethatsomedogsarecuteistoperformamentalactthatpresents-as-existent

cutedogs,thatis,presentscutedogsinanexistence-affirmingmanner.10

Theattitudinalaccountofmentalexistence-commitmentisunsurprising

giventhat,forBrentano,whatcharacterizesjudgmentinthefirstinstanceisthe

attitudinalpropertyofpresenting-as-true.Ifallpositivejudgmentspresent-as-true

andalltruthisexistential,itstandstoreasonthatpositivejudgmentsshouldturn

outtobecharacterizedbypresenting-as-existent.

Moregenerally,ifthecommitmenttosomething’sexistenceornonexistence

doesnotshowupinjudgments’content,thenthecontentisexhaustedbythe

individualobjectwhoseexistenceisaffirmedordenied.Ifajudgmentthatathree-

leggeddogexistssimplypresents-as-existentathree-leggeddog,thenwhatis

presented(inthatmode)isexhaustedbyacertainkindofindividualobject:athree-

leggeddog.Onthisview,then,judgmentturnsouttobeanobjectualratherthan

propositionalattitude.Tothatextent,Brentano’stheoryofjudgmentcastsitas

continuouswithsuchstatesaslovingJaneandfearingadog.Judgmentsarealways

directedatsomesortofindividualobject,butpresent-as-existent/nonexistentthat

object.Theobjectatwhichone’sjudgmentisdirectedcanbequitecomplicated–a

cutedog,acuteflyingdog,athree-leggednon-cuteflyingdog,etc.–butinanycase

whatispresentedbythejudgmentisalwayssomekindofindividualobject.Itis

neveranyentityofadifferentontologicalcategory,suchasapropositionorastate

ofaffairs(Brentano1930:108).Accordingly,forBrentanothetruthmakersof

existentialsarenotstatesofaffairsconsistinginthings’existence,butthethings

themselves.Hewrites:

…thebeingofAneednotbeproducedinorderforthejudgment‘Ais’tobe…correct;allthat

isneededisA.(Brentano1930:85)

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Inaslogan:thetruthmakersof(positive)existentialsarenotexistencesbut

existents.11Thereasonthisispossibleisthatthecontentofjudgmentsisexhausted

byindividuals,notindividuals’existence.

Itmightseemoddtopositacognitiveattitudedirectedatobjectsandnot

propositionsorstatesofaffairs.Typicalobjectualattitudessuchasloveandfearare

emotionalattitudes,andthesuspicionmayarisethattheobjectualstructureis

specialtosuchattitudes.Butinfact,wedospeaknotonlyofbelief-thatbutalsoof

belief-in–asin‘JimmybelievesinSantaClaus.’Belief-inisclearlyacognitive

objectualattitude:thecontentofJimmy’sstateisexhaustedbysomeindividual

object,SantaClaus,thecommitmenttowhoseexistencecomesinatthelevelof

attitude,throughtheattitudeofbelieving-in.12Soessentially,Brentano’stheoryof

judgmentcanbesummarizedthus:

BIT::Allpositivejudgmentsareoccurrentactsofbelieving-in;allnegative

judgmentsareoccurrentactsofdisbelieving-in.13

Judgingthatsomedogsarecuteisjustperformingamentalactthatpresents-as-

existentacutedog,thatis,occurrentlybelievinginacutedog;judgingthatnodogs

canflyisjustperformingamentalactthatpresents-as-nonexistentaflyingdog,that

is,occurrentlydisbelievinginaflyingdog.

Tobesure,becauseofalongphilosophicaltraditionoftreatingpropositional

attitudesasfundamentalincognition,itisnaturalforustodaytothinkof‘Sbelieves

inx’asshorthandfor‘Sbelievesthatxexists.’14ForBrentano,thisgetstheorderof

analysisexactlywrong.Themorefundamentalnotionisbelief-in,preciselybecause

itcapturescorrectlythepsychologicalstructureofjudgments,inparticularthelocus

ofexistence-commitmentintheattituderatherthancontent.Accordingly,Brentano

wouldproposetotake‘Sbelievesinx’asfundamentalandconsider‘Sbelievesthatx

exists’acumbersomeandmisleadingwayofsayingthesamething.Thisallowsusto

paraphrasethereportsofAristoteliancategoricalandhypotheticaljudgmentsmore

straightforwardly:

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(A*)‘Sjudgesthateverydogiscute’ó‘Sdisbelievesinanon-cutedog’

(E*)‘Sjudgesthatnodogiscute’ó‘Sdisbelievesinacutedog’

(I*)‘Sjudgesthatsomedogiscute’ó‘Sbelievesinacutedog’

(O*)‘Sjudgesthatsomedogisnotcute’ó‘Sbelievesinanon-cutedog’

(H*)‘Sjudgesthatifadogisthree-leggedthenheiscute’ó‘Sdisbelievesina

three-leggednon-cutedog’

Here,‘ó’justmeans‘canbeparaphrasedinto.’Thearrowisbidirectionalbecause

paraphraseabilityisasymmetricrelation:if‘p’isagoodparaphraseof‘q,’then‘q’is

anequallygoodparaphraseof‘p.’ItisthephilosophicalsubstanceofBrentano’s

theoryofjudgmentthatineachcaseitistheright-hand-sidereportthatcaptures

correctlythestructureofjudgment,eventhoughitistheleft-hand-sidereportthat

ismorecommonineverydayspeak.

IcallBrentano’stheoryofjudgmenttheBelief-InTheory,orBITforshort.15

AccordingtoBIT,alljudgmentsareconsciousactsof(dis)believinginsomething

(somekindofindividualobject).Brentano’sterminologyisdifferent,ofcourse.He

callsthecognitiveobjectualattitudethatembodiesmentalcommitmentto

something’sexistence‘acceptance’or‘acknowledgement’(Anerkennung)andthe

cognitiveobjectualattitudeembodyingcommitmenttononexistence‘rejection’or

‘denial’(Verwerfung).However,theassociatedverbs(‘accepting,’‘acknowledging,’

‘rejecting,’‘denying’)canperfectlygrammaticallytakepropositionalcomplements.

‘Believingin’and‘disbelievingin’havethisadvantage,thattheycanonlytake

objectualcomplements.TheyarethusbetterforexpressingBrentano’stheory.16

Whatevertheterminology,acrucialaspectofBITisthatjudgmentisan

objectualattitude:

OBJECTUAL::Alljudgmentsareobjectualattitudes.

OBJECTUALfollowsfromEXISTENTIALandATTITUDINALgiventhat(dis)belief-inisan

objectualattitude.Wemayformulatethemasterargumentasfollows:

1) Alltokenbeliefsareexistential(EXISTENTIAL);

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2) Allexistentialbeliefsarebeliefs-in(ATTITUDINAL);

3) Allbeliefs-inareobjectualattitudes;therefore,

4) Alltokenbeliefsareobjectualattitudes(OBJECTUAL).

Ontheemergingview,thesolebusinessofcognitionistomanageone’sbeliefin

someobjectsanddisbeliefinothers.Obviously,thisisanextremelyheterodoxview

ofcognition,whichwouldrequireaverygoodargumentindeed.Inowturnto

considerthecaseforit.

3. TheCasefortheBelief-InTheory

InthePsychology,Brentanospendsconsiderabletimeandeffortarguingthat

judgmentisnotessentiallypredicative.Forexample,hearguesthatsinceperception

isakindofjudgment,andperceptionisnotessentiallypredicative(sometimeswe

justperceiveathing),judgmentneednotbepredicative(Brentano1874:209).

However,theseargumentsestablish,atmost,thatsomejudgmentsarenot

predicative(andthereforepotentiallynon-propositional).Theycannotestablish

thatalljudgmentsareobjectualratherthanpropositionalattitudes,asOBJECTUAL

requires.AsfarasIcantell,thereisnodirectargumentforOBJECTUALinthe

Psychology.Nonetheless,insomeofBrentano’s(posthumouslypublished)letters,

dictations,andlecturenotes,onecanidentifyacaseforEXISTENTIALandATTITUDINAL,

henceforOBJECTUAL.

ThestartingpointofBrentano’sargumentisasimpledispensability

consideration.Ina1906lettertohisstudentAntonMarty,hewrites:

…everyassertionaffirmingyourentiarationis[notably,propositions]hasitsequivalentin

anassertionhavingonlyrealia[i.e.,concreteindividualobjects]asobjects…Notonlyare

yourjudgmentsequivalenttojudgmentsaboutconcreteobjects(realeGegenstände),the

latterarealwaysavailable[forparaphrasingtheformer].Hencetheentiarationisare

entirelyunnecessary/superfluous(unnütz)andcontrarytotheeconomyofnature.

(Brentano1930:84;seealsoBrentano1956§17)

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Theargumentproceedsintwosteps.First:everyindicativestatementthat

expressesajudgmentcanbeparaphrasedintoanexistential,meaningthat

indicativesostensiblyexpressingbeliefs-thatcanbeparaphrasedintoones

ostensiblyexpressingbeliefs-in.Second:theontologicalcommitmentsassociated

withabelief-inarealwaysmoreeconomicalthanthoseassociatedwithits

correspondingbelief-that;forpropositionsandthelikeentiarationisaremore

ontologicallyextravagantthanconcreteobjectsandthelikeentiarealia.

Accordingly,positingbeliefs-intotheexclusionofbeliefs-thatisbothfeasibleand

commendable:feasibleinvirtueoftheavailabilityofparaphrase,commendablein

virtueofontologicalparsimony.Theupshotcanbesummarizedthus:the

conjunctionofEXISTENTIALandATTITUDINALdeliverssignificantontological

economies,andshouldbeadoptedonthatbasis.Inwhatfollows,Iconsiderfirstthe

feasibilityclaim(§3.1),thenthecommendabilityclaim(§3.2).

3.1.DispensingwithBeliefs-thatisFeasible

InBrentano,thefirststepoftheargumentreliesonproducingtheparaphrasesfor

categoricalandhypotheticalstatementsinAristotelianlogic(asseenin§2).One

maywonderwhetherparaphraseswillbeavailablewhenwemovetomodernlogic.

Inowturntoconsidertwoparticularlyimportantcases:singularstatementsand

‘molecular’or‘compound’statements.Iwillarguethatalladmitofreasonably

plausibleexistentialparaphrases,withthepotentialexceptionofcertainmolecular

statements.

Startwithsuchsingularstatementsas‘Beyoncéisfamous.’Thesehavethe

form‘aisF,’whichdoesnotimmediatelyfitintoanyofA,E,I,orO.Leibniz,whoalso

rejectedtheseparationofsubjectandpredicate(Leibniz1686§8),construed

singularsashavingtheAform.So,‘Beyoncéisfamous’amountsisanalyzedas‘All

Beyoncésarefamous,’whichisBrentano’shandsamountsto‘Thereisnotanon-

famousBeyoncé.’SometimesBrentanosoundslikeaLeibnizianonthis,butonother

occasionsheseemstotreatsingularsratherashavingtheIform.17Thisanalyzes

13

‘Beyoncéisfamous’as‘SomeBeyoncéisfamous,’andultimatelyas‘Thereisa

famousBeyoncé.’Inthissecondapproach,unliketheLeibnizianone,‘aisF’commits

totheexistenceofsomethingratherthantothenonexistenceofsomething.Ifwe

followRussell(1905)intakingtheexistenceofatobeapreconditionforthetruth

of‘aisF,’theBrentaniantackshouldappealtousmorethantheLeibnizian.

Butwhatdoes‘ThereisafamousBeyoncé’exactlymean?Atraditional

descriptivistaboutnameswouldtake‘Beyoncé’topickoutwhicheverindividual

satisfiesadescriptionthatlistscertaincentralpropertiesofBeyoncé’s.Callan

individualthatinstantiatesalltherelevantpropertiesBeyoncésque.18Withinthe

descriptivistframework,then,‘ThereisafamousBeyoncé’means‘Thereisafamous

Beyoncésqueindividual.’

Itislessclearhowthiswouldworkwithinadirect-referenceapproachto

names.Accordingtothelatter,‘Beyoncé’doesnotreferbycourtesyofany

description.Rather,itpicksoutwhateverobjectisappropriatelyrelatedtoit(where

itistheburdenofthetheorytotellusexactlywhattherelevantrelationis).19

Withinthisframework,itishardertoseehowanexistentialparaphrasemight

work.20Ontheotherhand,adirect-referencetheoristmightsimplyparaphrase

‘Beyoncéisfamous’into‘Thereisfamous-Beyoncé,’where‘famous-Beyoncé’isused

asaname.Statementsoftheform‘ThereisN’(where‘N’rangesoverpropernames)

areawkward,butultimatelytheymeanthesameas‘Nexists,’whichisnot

awkward.’Sotheideaisessentiallytoparaphrase‘Beyoncéisfamous’into‘Famous-

Beyoncéexists.’Thereisstillanopenquestionastowhattheapparentname

‘Famous-Beyoncé’refersto,butletusbracketthisissuehere(seeKriegel2015fora

detaileddiscussion).21Onceweaccept‘Thereisfamous-Beyoncé’asawkward-but-

grammatical,thereiseveryreasontothinkthatitparaphrasesfaithfully‘Beyoncéis

famous.’

Iconcludethatsingularsareamenabletoexistentialparaphrase,pending

troubleinultimatelyunderstandingwhatsuchnamesas‘Famous-Beyoncé’referto.

Themorecomplicatedcaseispresentedbycompoundormolecularstatements.We

14

cansimplifythetasksomewhatbyfocusingonhowtohandleconjunctionand

negation,sinceeverybinarytruth-functionisdefinableintermsofthosetwo.

Inseparation,theyarequiteeasytohandle.Whenitcomesto

straightforwardconjunctionsoftheformp&q,suchas‘Somecatiswhiteandsome

dogisbrown,’atleasttwooptionsareopen.Oneparaphrasesthemintoatomic

existentialsaboutmereologicalsums,suchas‘Thereisasumofawhitecatanda

browndog.’Thejudgmentexpressedhereisabeliefintherelevantsum.Theother

optionistotreatconjunctionsasexpressingapluralityofsimultaneous(atomic)

judgments.Onthisapproach,intruthwedonotmakeonejudgmentexpressedby

‘Somecatiswhiteandsomedogisbrown.’Instead,wesimultaneouslyperformtwo

judgments–anoccurrentbeliefinawhitecatandanoccurrentbeliefinabrown

dog–andweuseconjunctivestatementstoexpresssuchmultiplicityofjudgments.

Inaway,thefirstoptionappealstobeliefinamereologicalsum,thesecondtoa

mereologicalsumofbeliefs-in.

Asforsimplenegation,intheAristoteliansystemtherearetwoseparate

cases:theEform(‘Nodogsarecute’)andtheOform(‘Somedogsarenotcute’).The

formerBrentanohandlesthroughtheattitudeofdisbelief,whichhetakestobeasui

generisattitudeirreducibletobelief.Itiscommontodaytotake‘Sdisbelivesincute

dogs’tobejustaflowerywayofsaying‘Sbelievesthattherearenocutedogs,’but

aswehaveseen,Brentanoadoptsanonreductiveaccountofdisbeliefthatrunsthe

otherway,considering‘Sbelievesthatnodogsarecute’tobeamisleadingreport

thatwouldbebetterputas‘Sdisbelievesinacutedog.’Asforsuchnegationsas

‘Somedogsarenotcute,’wehaveseenthatBrentanoconstruesthemasexpressing

aspecialkindofpositivejudgment,inourcaseabeliefinanuncutedog.22

ge

Thingsgetmorecomplicatedwhenwecombineconjunctionandnegationoperators

inasinglestatement.Considerfirststatementsoftheformp&~q,suchas‘Somecat

iscuteandnodogcanfly.’Herethereisnomereologicalsumwhoseexistencecould

betakentobeasserted–atleastontheassumptionthatthereisnosuchthingas

15

thesumofacutecatandanabsenceofaflyingdog(indeedofcatsandabsencesin

general!).Accordingly,theonlyliveoptionistotake‘Somecatiscuteandnodog

canfly’toexpressasumoftwodistinctjudgments,thebeliefinacutecatandthe

disbeliefinaflyingdog.

Unfortunately,theoppositehappenswithstatementsoftheform~(p&q),

suchas‘Itisnotthecasethatsomecatiscuteandsomedogcanfly.’Herethereis

onlyonejudgmentthatcanbesaidtobeexpressed.Thatjudgmentisadisbeliefin

themereologicalsumofacutecatandaflyingdog.Theunpalatableresulthereis

thatBrentanohasnounifiedaccountofp&~qand~(p&q).Hemusttrotout

differenttreatmentsfordifferentcombinationsofconjunctionandnegation.Thatis

somethingofanembarrassment.

Worse,neitheraccountcanhandleastatementoftheform~(p&~q),such

as‘Itisnotthecasethatthereareflyingdogsbutnocutecats.’Ontheonehand,it

wouldbeimplausibletotakesuchastatementtoexpressadisbeliefinthe

mereologicalsumof(a)aflyingdogand(b)theabsenceofacutecat.Forthenits

negationwouldhavetobetakentoexpressabeliefinthatsum,andhenceinan

absence(whichwouldcommitthebelievertotherealityofabsences).Ontheother

hand,nordoes‘Itisnotthecasethatthereareflyingdogsbutnocutecats’seemto

expressadisbeliefintheco-occurrenceoftwoseparatejudgments,abeliefinacute

catandadisbeliefinaflyingdog.Forwhatthesubjectrejectsarenotbeliefs

themselves.(Forallsheknowsthebeliefsmaywellexist!)Tothatextent,

statementsoftheform~(p&~q)canbehandledneitherbythe‘(dis)beliefinsums’

strategynotbythe‘sumof(dis)beliefs’strategy.

Brentano’sapproachtothisproblemistotreatsuchstatementsasrejections

notjustofco-occurringjudgmentsbutofco-occurringtrueorcorrect(richtig)

judgments.Onthisview,‘Itisnotthecasethatthereareflyingdogsbutnocutecats’

istobeparaphrasedinto‘Thereisnosumofacorrectbeliefinflyingdogsanda

correctdisbeliefincutecats.’Thejudgmentexpressedhereisthedisbeliefinsucha

sumofcorrectjudgments.Theideaisthatnoonecouldcorrectlybothbelieveina

16

flyingdoganddisbelieveinacutecat–andthisiswhatastatementoftheform~(p

&~q)reallyexpresses.Whatisexpressedhereisinrealityasecond-orderjudgment

–whichisnotthatsurprisinggiventhatwearetryingtoaccountforsecond-order

negation.

Onemightreasonablycomplainthatweareleftherewithadistressingly

balkanizedtreatmentofnegation:wehaveseendifferentdevicesforhandling~p,

p&~q,~(p&q),and~(p&~q).Thesedevicesare:asuigenerisattitudeofdisbelief,

singlestatementsexpressingsumsofdifferentjudgments,singlejudgmentsabout

mereologicalsumsofobjects,andsecond-orderjudgmentsaboutcorrectfirst-order

judgments.ThislevelofdisunitylookslikeamajorcostofBrentano’stheoryof

judgment,thecomplaintmightbe.

However,itwouldseemthatoncewehaveintroducedthedeviceofsecond-

orderjudgmentaboutcorrectfirst-orderjudgment,itcanbeappliedretrospectively

tohandleuniformlyallfourcases:~pcanbeunderstoodasexpressingadisbeliefin

acorrectjudgmentthatp,p&~qcanbeunderstoodasexpressingajudgmentthatp

andadisbeliefinacorrectjudgmentthatq,and~(p&q)canbeunderstoodasa

disbeliefinasumofcorrectjudgmentsthatpandthatq.

Thereis,however,anotherobjectiontowhichBrentano’saccountofnegation

issusceptible.RecallthatBrentano’sparaphrasesarenotintendedastechnical

movesfacilitatingtheregimentationofaformallanguage.Theyareintendedto

capturethedeeppsychologicalrealityofourcognitivelife.Arguably,however,itis

psychologicallyunrealistictothinkthat‘Nodogsarepurple’actuallyexpressesthe

second-orderjudgmentthatthereisnocorrectbeliefinapurpledog.Forharboring

suchasecond-orderjudgmentwouldseemtorequirethepossessionofsuch

conceptsasBELIEFandCORRECTNESS,yetachildmaywellbelievethatnodogsare

purplewithoutpossessingthoseconcepts.Furthermore,certainbeliefsthatappear

simpleenoughthatachildcouldhavethemarecastasextraordinarilycomplexin

Brentano’stheory,againmakingthetheorypsychologicallyunrealistic.

17

Agoodexampleisdisjunctivejudgments,suchaswouldbeexpressedby

‘Somecatiswhiteorsomedogisbrown.’Chisholm(1976:92)suggestedon

Brentano’sbehalfthatwepositdisjunctiva,inthiscasetheindividualwhichiseither

awhitecatorabrowndog,andsaythat‘Somecatiswhiteorsomedogisbrown’

expressesanoccurrentbeliefinthisdisjunctivum.However,Brentanohimself

wouldlikelyfrownondisjunctivajustasmuchasonabsences(‘negativa,’ashe

calledthem).Instead,heexploitsthedefinabilityofdisjunctionintermsofnegation

andconjunction:

…anyonewhosays‘ThereisanAorthereisaBorthereisaC’expressesthefollowing:in

contemplatingthatAisnotandBisnotandCisnot,heconsiderssuchacombinationof

thoughtsincorrect.(Brentano1930:70)

Weknowthat‘pVq’isequivalentto‘~(~p&~q).’Sowecanparaphrase‘Somecat

iswhiteorsomedogisbrown’into‘Itisnotthecasethatnocatiswhiteandnodog

isbrown,’andtheninto‘Thereisnomereologicalsumofacorrectdisbeliefina

whitecatandacorrectdisbeliefinabrowndog.’23However,itisquiteplausiblethat

achildcouldgraspthenotionthatsomecatiswhiteorsomedogisbrownwell

beforeshehasthecognitiveresourcestograsptheideaofamereologicalsumof

correctdisbeliefs.

ge

Inconclusion,althoughBrentanohimselfrestshiscasefortheparaphraseabilityof

allstatementsintoexistentialsmainlyonconsiderationofcategoricaland

hypotheticalstatements,hehassomeoptionsforexistentialparaphrasesofsingular

andcompoundstatementsaswell.Theparaphrasesmaynotalwaysbeelegant,and

sometimesentrainrealcosts,notablythecontrastbetweentherelativesimplicityof

believing(e.g.)thatsomebabyorsomedogiscuteandtheevidentcomplexityof

disbelievinginamereologicalsumofacorrectdisbeliefinacutebabyandacorrect

disbeliefinacutedog.Still,itisalreadyremarkablethatanexistentialparaphraseis

alwaysavailable.ItwouldthereforenotbeunreasonabletoindulgeBrentanoand

granthimthefirststepofhisargument:dispensingwithbelief-thatisfeasible.

18

3.2.DispensingwithBeliefs-thatisCommendable

Paraphraseabilityisasymmetricrelation:if‘blah’paraphrasesinto‘bleh,’then

equally‘bleh’paraphrasesinto‘blah.’Accordingly,inshowingthatallpredicative

statementsparaphraseintoexistentialones,wewouldalsobeshowingthatallthe

relevantexistentialsparaphraseintopredicatives.Sotheparaphrasebyitselfdoes

notdemonstratethatallseeminglypredicativejudgmentsareinfactexistential.It

couldbeequallywelltakentosuggestthattherelevantseeminglyexistential

judgmentsareinfactpredicative.

Someonemightrespond,onBrentano’sbehalf,thatinterpretingthe

paraphraseabilityasshowingthatalljudgmentsareexistentialbringswithit

increasedtheoreticalunity;theoppositeinterpretationdoesnot.Inoneversion,the

claimwouldbethatalthoughallpredicativesparaphraseintoexistentials,thereare

alsosomeextraexistentialsforwhichnopredicativeparaphraseisavailable.In

anotherversion,theclaimmightbethatexistentialsasaclassaresimplymore

homogeneousthanpredicatives.However,bothclaimsaresuspect.Ontheonehand,

itisdoubtfulthatthereareexistentialsthatcannotbeputinpredicativeform,given

theavailabilityofsuchfirst-orderpredicatesas‘exists,’‘isexistent,’and‘isreal.’As

fortheclaimthatexistentialsareinherentlymorehomogeneousthanpredicatives,

itishardtoevaluatesuchclaimsintheabsenceofexplicitmeasuresoftherelevant

homogeneity.Attheveryleast,theenvisagedargumentwouldrequire

supplementationintheformof(i)providingameasureofclasshomogeneityfor

statementsand(ii)showingthat,asaclass,existentialsscorehigheronthis

measurethanpredicatives.

Brentano’sownargument,inthequoted1906lettertoMarty,isnotfrom

unitybutparsimony(‘theeconomyofnature’).Theideaseemstobethatifsome

judgmentsarepredicative,thentheircontentsarepropositional,whichwould

requireustoembracepropositionsinourontology,andtheirtruthmakersare

statesofaffairs,whichwewouldhavetoembraceaswellinourontology.In

19

contrast,Brentanoseemstoclaim,existentialjudgmentsdonotrequirea

propositionalcontent,andtheirtruthmakerscanbeindividualobjects.

Thenotionthatjudgmentsmaynotrequirepropositionsascontentis

potentiallygreatlyadvantageous,giventheforceofworriesaboutthe‘unityofthe

proposition’prominentinrecentphilosophyofmindandlanguage(King2007).But

theparsimonyBrentanopursuesmostvigorouslyconcernstruthmakers.The

truthmakerofabeliefthatsomedogsarecute,itisnaturaltosay,isthefact(orthe

obtainingstateofaffairs)thatsomedogsarecute.Incontrast,thetruthmakersof

thebeliefincutedogsaresimplythecutedogs.Eachandeverycutedogoutthere

makestruethebeliefincutedogs.24Thusthetruthmakersofbeliefs-inare

individualobjectsratherthanfactsorstatesofaffairs.Otherthingsbeingequal,

then,thethesisthatallbeliefsarebeliefs-inpavesthewaytoanominalistontology

thatdispenseswithfactsandstatesofaffairs.Thistooisgreatlyadvantageous,given

worriesaboutso-calledBradley’sregressattendingastate-of-affairsontology.25

IdevelopthisnominalisticsideofBrentano’sproposalmorefullyinKriegel

2015;whatIwanttostresshereisthatthe1906lettertoMartysuggeststhatthat

nominalistontologyisthemotivationfortheBITtheoryofjudgment.

Thekeytodeliveringnominalismisthenotionthatbeliefs-inaremadetrue

byindividualobjects,notbyexistentialstatesofaffairs(ofwhichsuchobjectsare

constituents).Itmightbeobjectedthatthebeliefindogsismadetruenotbyeach

dog,butratherbyeachdog’sexistence–whereadog’sexistenceisastateofaffairs

(thefactthatthedogexists).ButBrentanoexplicitlyrejectsthisinthesameletterto

Marty:

[T]hebeingofAneednotbeproducedinorderforthejudgment“Ais”tobe…correct;all

thatisneededisA.(Brentano1930:85)

Itistheobject,andnot(thefactof)theobject’sexistence,thatmakestruethe

relevantexistential.Inaslogan:thetruthmakersofexistentialsarenotexistences

butexistents.

20

Whatisthereasontotaketheobjectitself,ratherthanitsexistence,tomake

truetheexistentialjudgment?Onereasonisparsimonyofcourse.ButBrentanoalso

adducesaseparateargument.Itisanargumentfrominfiniteregress,presentedin

thatlettertoMarty(Brentano1930:85-6)andasubsequentlettertoHugoBergman

(Bergmann1946:84),aswellasina1914dictation(Brentano1930:108).Suppose

forreductiothatbeliefinmydogJuliusismadetruenotbyJulius,butbyJulius’

existence.TheninadditiontoJulius,wemustaddtoourontologythestateofaffairs

ofJuliusexisting.Inaddingthisstateofaffairstoourontology,now,weareclearly

committingourselvestoitsexistence.Andcommittingtotheexistenceofthestate

ofaffairsofJuliusexistingisamatterofbelievinginthatstateofaffairs.The

questionarisesthenofwhatmakesthisnewbelieftrue.Oneviewisthatitismade

truebythestateofaffairsofJuliusexistingitself.Theotherviewisthatitismade

truebynotbythestateofaffairsofJuliusexisting,butbytheexistenceofthatstate

ofaffairs(thatis,bythestateofaffairsofthestateofaffairsofJuliusexisting

existing!).Ifwetaketheformerview,thenweallowbeliefsincertainitemstobe

madetruebythoseitemsthemselves,ratherthanbytheirexistences;sowemight

aswellallowalreadythebeliefinJuliustobemadetruebyJuliushimself,rather

thanbyJulius’existence.If,however,wetakethebeliefinthestateofaffairsof

Juliusexistingtobemadetruebytheexistenceofthatstateofaffairs,thenweare

includinginourontologyanew,second-orderstateofaffairs,namely,thatofJulius’

existenceexisting.Thisontologicalcommitmentofoursrequiresustobelieveinthat

second-orderstateofaffairs–andoffweareonaviciousregress.Theonlynon-

arbitrarywaytoavoidtheregressistorecognizedogsthemselvesasthe

truthmakersoffirst-orderbeliefsindogs.

Insummary,theBITtheoryofjudgmenthastheadvantageofdispensing

withstatesofaffairsasthekindofentitiesourjudgmentsareanswerableto.More

precisely,whatwehavehereisadispensabilityargumenttotheeffectthatthe

conjunctionofEXISTENTIALandATTITUDINALresultsinadoublyparsimony-enabling

theoryofjudgment:thereis(i)noneedtopositpropositionstoaccountforthe

21

structureofjudgments,and(ii)noneedtopositfactsand/orstatesofaffairsto

accountforthetruthof(true)judgments.

ge

TheargumentisthatweshouldadopttheconjunctionofATTITUDINALand

EXISTENTIALbecausedoingsowillprovidedownstreambenefits.Theargumentis

powerful,buthastwolimitations.First,itoffersnomotivationforeither

ATTITUDINALorEXISTENTIALinseparationfromtheother,andsecond,itpresentno

upstreamconsiderationsofferingindependentsupportforeitherATTITUDINALor

EXISTENTIAL.Now,intheentireBrentanocorpusIdonotbelievethereisany

independentargumentofthesortforEXISTENTIAL.ButforATTITUDINALthereareat

leasttwo.

Themoreexplicitargumentappears,tomyknowledge,onlyinBrentano’s

lecturenotesfromhislogiccoursesinViennaat1878-9and1884-5(Brentano1956

§15).Thosewhomaintainthatanexistentialjudgment’sexistence-commitmentis

anaspectofcontent,Brentanoreasons,havethefollowingpictureinmind.When

youjudgethatthePopeiswise,youputtogethertheconceptofPopeandthe

conceptofwisdom.Likewise,whenyoujudgethatthereisapope,orthatthePope

exists,youputtogethertheconceptofPopeandtheconceptofexistence.Butnote,

saysBrentano,thatyoucannotjudgethatthePopeiswisewithoutacknowledging

(annerkenen)thePope,thatis,presenting-as-existentthePope.Bythesametoken,

youcannotjudgethatthePopeexistswithoutacknowledgingthePope.Butonceone

hasacknowledgedthePope,thereisnopointinadditionallyjudgingthatthePope

exists–thereisnothinginthelatternotalreadyintheformer.Sincethe

commitmenttothePope’sexistenceisalreadybuiltintotheacknowledging,that

commitmentismerelyreplicatedintheact’scontent.

Oneobjectionmightbethatacknowledgementisnotbuiltintojudgmentthe

wayBrentanoclaims.Forexample,onemayjudgethatAlyoshaKaramazovis

emotionallywisewithoutacknowledgingAlyoshaintherelevantsense(thesenseof

presenting-as-existent).However,forBrentanosuchstatementsas‘Alyosha

22

Karamazovisemotionallywise’areellipticalforthehypothetical‘Iftherewerean

AlyoshaKaramazov,hewouldbeemotionallywise’(seeBrentano1911:273).Aswe

sawin§2,thisinturnexpressesonlyanegativejudgment,namely,thatthereisnot

anon-emotionally-wiseAlyosha.Suchnegativejudgmentsareorthogonaltothe

argument,sincenegativeexistentialsdonotcommittoanything’sexistence

(obviously:theyratherinvolvecommitmenttononexistence).

Anotherobjectionmightbethatacknowledgementonlyappearstobea

distinctiveattitude.Intruth,toacknowledgesomethingamountstojudgingthatthe

thinghasthepropertyofexisting.Inotherwords,justasBrentanoclaimsthat

belief-thatreportsshouldbeparaphrasedintobelief-inreports,thepresentobjector

claimsweshoulddotheinverse.Whatthisobjectionshows,Ithink,isthatdeeper

(nonlinguistic)considerationsarecalledfortoshowthatexistence-commitmentis

anattitudinalratherthancontentproperty.

Brentano’smainargumentforthisisimplicitinthePsychology.26Thebasic

pointisthatactsofjudgingandactsofcontemplatingorentertainingcanhavethe

samecontent(Brentano1874:205).Yetthejudgingcommitsthesubjecttothe

realityofwhatisjudged,whilethecontemplatingfailstocommittotheexistenceof

thecontemplated.Therefore,theexistence-commitmentcannotcomefromthe

content,whichisshared.Itmustcomefromsomeotherdifferencebetweenjudging

andcontemplating.Thebestcandidate,saysBrentano(1874:221-2),isan

attitudinaldifference:thejudgingpresentsthejudgedinawaythatthe

contemplatingdoesnotpresentthecontemplated,andthatwayofpresenting

encodes(ifyouplease)commitmenttotherelevantobject’sexistence.

ConsideranepisodeinwhichIamtoldthatsomestarvelingisimmasked.

First,Iamunsurewhatwassaid.ThenIreasonthatbythesoundofit,‘starveling’

mustbeawordforsomeonewhostarvesand‘immasked’awordforsomeonewho

iswearingamask.WhathappensnextisthatIapprehendorcontemplatethenotion

thatsomestarvingpersoniswearingamask.AtthispointIamcommittedneither

totheexistencenortothenonexistenceofsuchaperson.Aftersomethinking,

23

however,Irealizethattherearesomanyhungrypeoplearoundtheworldthatitis

ratherprobableatleastoneofthemiswearingamaskrightnow.Ithencometo

accepttheexistenceofanimmaskedstarveling.Inthisstretchofinnerlife,the

changethathappenswhenInolongermerelycontemplatebutalsobelieveinan

immaskedstarvelingisnotachangeinwhatispresentedtome,butinhowitis

presented.Whatispresentedthroughoutisastarvingpersonwearingamask.But

firstheispresentedinawaythatdoesnotcommittohisexistenceandthenina

waythatdoes.Theexistence-commitmentisthusanaspectofthewaythe

presentingisdone–whatIhavecalledanattitudinalproperty.

Tomymind,thismoreimplicitargumentofBrentano’siscogent,and

demonstratesthatexistence-commitmentisindeednotacontentproperty,but

likelyanattitudinalproperty.27Itisworthmentioning,though,thatthereisanother

argumentforATTITUDINALclosetothesurfaceinthePsychology.Considerthe

Kantianclaimthat‘existenceisnotaproperty,’whichBrentanocitesapprovingly:

InhiscritiqueoftheontologicalargumentfortheexistenceofGod,Kantmadethepertinent

remarkthatinanexistentialstatement,i.e.inastatementoftheform‘Aexists,’existence‘is

notarealpredicate,i.e.aconceptofsomethingthatcanbesuperposed(hinzukommen)on

theconceptofathing.’‘Itis,’hesaid,‘onlythepositingofathingorofcertaindeterminations

[read:properties],asexistinginthemselves.’(Brentano1874:211)

Ifthereisnosuchthingasapropertyofexistence,anyattributionofexistenceto

somethingwouldbeattributionofapropertythatnothinghas.Accordingly,any

existentialbeliefthatattributedexistencetosomethingwouldperforcebe

misattributingandthereforemistaken.Butinfactnotallexistentialbeliefsare

mistaken:itiscorrect,forexample,tobelieveinducks.So(correct)commitmentto

something’sexistencecannotinvolveattributionofapropertyofexistence.If

commitmenttoFs’existenceisnotamatterofattributingexistencetoFs,itmust

insteadbebuiltintotheverynatureoftheattitudetakentowardFs.Thisisthe

attitudeofbelieving-in,anattitudewhoseverynatureistopresent-as-existent.

24

IconcludethatthecaseforbothEXISTENTIALandATTITUDINALisstrongerthan

onemightinitiallysuspect.Asnoted,togethertheyentailOBJECTUAL.Andallthree

thesestogetherconstituteBIT,Brentano’sBelief-InTheoryofjudgment.Thetheory

isveryunusual,butapparentlymoredefensiblethanmayinitiallyappear.Its

greatestcost,itseemstome,isthegapbetweentheapparentsimplicityofcertain

(notablycompound)judgmentsandtheevidentcomplexityBrentano’stheory

attributestothem.

4. ObjectionsandReplies

GivenhowunusualBrentano’sviewis,itissurprisingthatthecaseforitshouldbe

assolidasitis.Nonetheless,anumberofobjectionssuggestthemselves.Letus

considerthemorepressing.

Clearly,Brentano’stheorygoesagainstourintuitionsastwenty-first-century

philosophers‘broughtup’onacertainconceptionofthestructureofjudgmentand

belief:ashavingasubject-predicatestructureakintothestructureofthesentences

usedtoexpressthem.Butjustasclearly,Brentanowouldreplythattheseintuitions

ofoursliedownstreamoftheorizingandthereforecannotbeusedtosupportthe

theory.Wephilosophershavetheintuitionbecausewehaveacceptedthetheory,

nottheotherwayround.Weshouldrejecttheintuitionalongwiththetheory.The

objectormayinsist,however,thattheintuitiondoesnotcomeonlyfrom

philosophicaltheory,butalsofromthestructureoflanguage,asusedwellbefore

exposuretoanytheory.Itisthesubject-predicatestructureofindicativesthat

suggestsasimilarpsychologicalstructureinthejudgmentstheyexpress.

Thisisareasonableclaim,towhichBrentanorespondsbytryingtoexplain

whylinguisticexpressionsofjudgmentshavethestructuretheydo(despite

judgmentshavingacompletelydifferentstructure).28Ultimately,theexplanationis

thatlanguageandjudgmenthavedifferentfunctions:theprimary,originalfunction

oflanguage,heclaims,istofacilitatecommunication(Brentano1956:25-6),

25

whereastheprimaryfunctionofthoughtandreasoningistheacquisitionand

managementofknowledge.Insofarasstructuresderiveovertimefromfunctions,

thereisnoreasontoexpectthelattertoconvergewheretheformerdiverge.

Theobjectormaypressthatcertainsystematicityphenomenacouldnotbe

explainedwithintheBrentanianframework.Ifthestructureoflanguageand

thoughtmirroreachother,wecanunderstandwhynopersonisinapositionto

judgethatMarylovesJohnwithoutbeinginapositiontojudgethatJohnlovesMary

(Fodor1975).Brentano,incontrast,hasnoresourcestoexplainthis–hemusttreat

asmiraculousthesimultaneousemergenceofthecapacitiestomakeboth

judgments.ForthebeliefinaMary-lovingJohnandthebeliefinaJohn-lovingMary

havestrictlynothingincommonintheircontents.29

ThisisindeedaveryseriousproblemforBrentano,butperhapshecould

respondasfollows.Aswehavealreadyseen,thefactthatanintentionalstateisnon-

propositionaldoesnotmeanthatitdoesnotmobilizeconcepts.Thus,eventhough

fearisanobjectualattitude,whatasubjectcanfeardependsontheconceptsinthe

subject’spossession:ifS1possessestheconceptofaRottweilerwhileS2only

possessesthecoarser-grainedconceptofabigdog,theirfearsofthesameobject

mightbetype-differentintentionalstates.ThisisbecauseS1willapplytheconcept

ofaRottweilertotheobjecthefearswhileS2willapplytheconceptofabigdog.

Now,wecanimagineasubjectwhopossessesbothconcepts,butinwhomthetwo

aredisconnectedinsuchawaythatthesubjectisunawarethatRottweilersare

dogs.Inmostsubjectswhopossessbothconcepts,however,thetwoarelinkedin

suchawaythatitisimpossibleforthesubjecttofearaRottweilerwithoutipsofacto

fearingadog.TheBrentanianmighthopetoproduceasimilarexplanationofwhy

everynormalhumansubjectinapositiontocontemplateaMary-lovingJohnisalso

inapositiontocontemplateaJohn-lovingMary.Itisfarfromclearhowthe

explanationwouldgo,butitisnotinconceivablethatsomestorycouldbedevised.

Still,aslongasnoactualstoryisproffered,itremainsanoutstandingtheoretical

debtofBITtoshowthatitcanrecoverthephenomenaofsystematicity.

26

AcompletelydifferentobjectionisthatBITispragmaticallyproblematic,

perhapsbecauseitsacceptancewouldcomplicatetheconductofinquiry.More

specifically,itmightbeclaimedthatpredicatelogichasworkedverywellforusto

formalizelargetractsofscience,butwithBIT,predicatelogicwouldhavetobe

renouncedwholesale.Thisobjectionisimportant,butallitshowsisthatBrentano

owesusapredicate-freeformallogictogoalongwithhispredication-freetheoryof

judgment.Asithappens,Brentanodidstartonthisproject(Brentano1956),which

wasfurtherdevelopedbyhisstudentFranzHillebrand(Hillebrand1891).Suppose

asubjectjudgesboththat(i)thereisapartyandthat(ii)ifthereisapartythen

thereisbooze,whichleadshertojudgethat(iii)thereisbooze.Thevalidityofher

reasoningiscapturedintraditionalmodusponens.WithintheBrentanian

framework,thereasoningisrecastasfollows:thesubjectbothbelievesinaparty

anddisbelievesinaboozelessparty,whichleadshertobelieveinbooze.Thetask,

then,istoreformulatethefamiliarlawsoflogic,inthiscasemodusponens,sothat

thisreasoningisratifiedasvalid.Whathasbeenproposedbyvariouslogiciansisto

replacethetraditional

pàq p

q

with

Na¯b Ea

Eb

Thisreads:aisnotwithoutb(thereisnotaboozelessparty);ais(thereisaparty);

therefore,bis(thereisbooze).Withthislawinplace,wecanreadilyexplainwhy

thesubject’sreasoningtotheconclusionthatthereisboozeisvalid.Similarlyfor

otherlogicallaws.Now,whileIhavenocompetencetoaffirmthatHillebrand’s

systemworks,IhaveallthecompetenceneededtoreportthatPeterSimonsthinks

itdoes(seeSimons1984,1987).

27

Conclusion

IpersonallythinkthatBrentano’stheoryofjudgmentisamasterpieceof

philosophicalcreativity.Againsttheoverwhelminglycommonphilosophical

treatmentofjudgmentandbeliefaspropositionalattitudeswithaninternal

structuremimickingthatofsentences,outofthebluecomesBrentanoandargues

thattheseareratherobjectualattitudeswhoseonlyfunctionistoacknowledgeor

denyexistence,ormoreaccurately,present-as-existentorpresent-as-nonexistent

someindividualobject.Givenitsconsiderableoriginality,Ifindthecasefor

Brentano’stheorysurprisinglysolid.Realliabilitiesloomaroundtheissuesof

systematicityandthecomplexityofcompoundjudgments.Still,theontological

benefitsaccruingtothiskindoftheory–inparticular,thedismissalofpropositions

andnon-concretetruthmakers–willsurelyappealtomanyphilosophers.30

References

§ Bradley,F.H.1893.AppearanceandReality.London:SwanSonnenschein.

§ Brentano,F.C.1874.PsychologyfromEmpiricalStandpoint.EditedbyO.Kraus.TranslatedbyA.C.

Rancurello,D.B.Terrell,andL.L.McAlister.London:RoutledgeandKeganPaul,1973.

§ Brentano,F.C.1911.‘AppendixtotheClassificationofMentalPhenomena.’InBrentano1874.

§ Brentano,F.C.1928.SensoryandNoeticConsciousness.EditedO.Kraus,Trans.M.SchättleandL.L.

McAlister.London:RoutledgeandKeganPaul,1981.

§ Brentano,F.C.1930.TheTrueandtheEvident.EditedbyO.Kraus.TranslatedbyR.M.Chisholm,I.

Politzer,andK.Fischer.London:Routledge1966.

§ Brentano,F.C.1933.TheTheoryofCategories.EditedbyA.Kastil.TranslatedbyR.M.Chisholm

andN.Guterman.TheHague:MartinusNijhoff,1981.

§ Brentano,F.C.1956.DieLehrevomrichtigenUrteil.Bern:FranckeVerlag.

§ Brentano,F.C.1982.DescriptivePsychology.EditedandtranslatedbyB.Müller.London:

Routledge,1995.

§ Chisholm,R.1976.‘Brentano’sNonpropositionalTheoryofJudgment.’MidwestStudiesin

PhilosophyofMind1:91-95.

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§ Fodor,J.A.1975.TheLanguageofThought.CambridgeMA:HarvardUniversityPress.

§ vonHillebrad,F.1891.DieneuenTheorienderkategorischenSchlüsse.Wien:Hölder.

§ King,J.2007.TheNatureandStructureofContent.OxfordandNewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.

§ Kriegel,U.2015.‘ThoughtandThing:Brentano’sReismasTruthmakerNominalism.’Philosophy

andPhenomenologicalResearch90:153-180.

§ Kriegel,U.Forthcoming.‘Brentano’sConceptofMind:UnderlyingNature,Reference-Fixing,and

theMarkoftheMental.’InC.PincockandS.Lapointe(eds.),InnovationsintheHistoryof

AnalyticalPhilosophy.London:Palgrave-Macmillan.

§ Kroon,F.1987.‘CausalDescriptivism.’AustralasianJournalofPhilosophy65:1–17.

§ Leibniz,G.W.1686.DiscourseonMetaphysics.Trans.D.GarberandR.Ariew.Indianapolis:

Hackett,1991.

§ Meinong,A.1902.OnAssumptions,trans.J.Heanue.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,

1983.

§ Montague,M.2007.‘AgainstPropositionalism.’Noûs41:503-518.

§ Perry,J.1994.‘Intentionality.’InS.Guttenplan(ed.),TheBlackwellCompaniontothePhilosophy

ofMind.Oxford:Blackwell.

§ Pitt,D.2004.‘ThePhenomenologyofCognition;orWhatIsItLiketoThinkthatP?’Philosophy

andPhenomenologicalResearch69:1-36.

§ Russell,B.1904.‘Meinong’sTheoryofComplexesandAssumptions.’Mind13:509-524.

§ Russell,B.1905.‘OnDenoting.’Mind14:479-493.

§ Searle,J.R.1983.Intentionality.Cambridge:CambridgeUP.

§ Simons,P.M.1984.‘ABrentanianBasisforaLeśniewskianLogic.’LogiqueetAnalyse27:279-307.

§ Simons,P.M.1987.‘Brentano'sReformofLogic.’Topoi6:25-38.

§ Sutton,J.2007.WithoutJustification.CambridgeMA:MITPress.

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PerspectivesonPerception.Frankfurt:Ontos.

§ WhiteheadA.N.andB.Russell1913.PrincipiaMathematica.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity

Press.

1Tomyknowledge,theexpression‘objectualattitude’comesfromForbes2000;andtheexpression‘propositionalattitude’fromRussell1904.Buttheconceptsfarpredatetheexpressions.2Itisnotimmediatelyclearthatinclaimingthatjudgmentandinterestaregroundedinpresentation,orhavepresentationastheirgrounds/foundations(Grundlage),Brentanohasinmindthenotionofgroundingcurrentlywidelydiscussed.OnesimilarityisthatBrentaniangroundingisamatterofontologicalasymmetricdependence,orwhatBrentanocalls‘unilateralseparability’:amentalstate

29

canbeapresentationwithoutbeingajudgment,butitcannotbeajudgmentwithoutalsobeingapresentation.3SeeBrentano1874IIChapters6-8,including:‘mythreeclassesarenotthesameasthosewhichareusuallyproposed.Intheabsenceofmoreappropriateexpressionswedesignatethefirstbytheterm“presentation,”thesecondbytheterm“judgment,”andthethirdbytheterms“emotion,”“interest,”or“love”.’(Brentano1874:198)Aclearerpresentationoftheviewisthis:‘Itisclearthatallmodesofrelationtoanobjectfallintothreeclasses:presentation,judgment,andemotion[interest].Thesecondandthirdmodesalwayspresupposethefirst,andinbothwefindacontrast,inthatajudgmentiseitherabelieforadenial,andamemotioniseitheraformofloveorhate.’(Brentano1928:42)4AlthoughBrentanoconsiderspresentationthemostbasicofthethree,sincetheothertwoaregroundedinit,myexpositionwillproceedinadifferentorder.Moreover,myexpositionwillbea‘dogmatic’one,inthatIwillnotpresentBrentano’sargumentfortheclassification,onlytheclassificationitself.Forreconstructionanddiscussionofhisargumentforit,seeKriegelforthcoming.5Isay‘inthefirstinstance’becauseaswewillseelater,ultimatelyBrentano’sviewisthatajudgmentpresentwhatitdoesasexistentornonexistentratherthanastrueorfalse.6Brentano’s‘Vorstellung’isvariouslytranslatedaspresentation,representation,apprehension,idea,thought,andcontemplation.HereIgomostlywith‘presentation.’7Whenonesupposesthatp,oneisnottherebycommittedtothetruthofp.Thereisasenseinwhichinsupposingthatp,onepresentsptooneselfundertheguiseoftruth,butforBrentano,thelackofcommitmenttotruthlandssuppositioninthecategoryofpresentation.HisstudentMeinongarguedthatinfactsuppositions,orassumptions(Annahmen),shareoneessentialcharacteristicwithpresentationsandanotherwithjudgments,andsoconstitutedasuigeneriscategory(Meinong1902).Brentanoarguesagainstthisinseveralplaces,forexampleBrentano1911:284-6.8Thisis,atleast,Brentano’streatmentofAristotle’sfourtypesofstatementsformostofhiscareer.Inthefinaldecadeofhislife,heseemstohavecomplicatedtheaccountconsiderably,adoptinghisso-calleddouble-judgmenttheory(seeespeciallyAppendixIXofthePsychology,aswellasBrentano1956§30).HereIwillignorethislatercomplication,wellmotivatedthoughitmaybe.9Brentanowrites:‘Theproposition,“Ifamanbehavesbadly,heharmshimself,”isahypotheticalproposition.Asfarasitsmeaningisconcerned,itisthesameasthecategoricalproposition,“Allmenwhobehavebadlyharmthemselves.”Andthis,inturn,hasnoothermeaningthanthatoftheexistentialproposition,“Amanwhobehavesbadlyanddoesnotharmhimselfdoesnotexist,”ortouseamorefelicitousexpression,“Thereisnosuchthingasamanwhobehavesbadlyanddoesnotharmhimself”.’(Brentano1874:218)10Brentanonowherestatestheattitudinalaccountofexistence-commitmentasexplicitlyasonemightwish.Buthecomescloseatvariouspoints.Forexample:‘Themostnaturalexpressionis“Ais,”not“Aisexistent,”where“existent”appearsasapredicate.…[Butsuchanexistentialstatement]meansrather“IfanyoneshouldthinkofAinapositiveway,histhoughtisfitting(entsprechend)”.’(Brentano1930:69)ThecommitmenttoA’sexistenceisanaspectoftheway(ormode)inwhichthethinkingisdone.11Thereisaquestionofhowtohandlethetruthmakingofnegativeexistentials.ThisissomethingBrentanohadnothingtosayabout.Perhapsthisisbecauseforhimtheissueisnotreallyoneoftruthmaking,butoftheontologicalcommitmentthatpositiveexistentialsinvolve.Sincenegativeexistentialsinvolvenoontologicalcommitment,thesameissuedoesnotariseforthem.

30

12Thereareusesof‘beliefin’thatmaydenotenon-cognitiveattitude,asin‘believeinyourself!’or‘webelieveinthefuture’(whichseemtodenoteemotionalattitudessuchasconfidenceandhope).Butthereisalsothecognitiveusagehighlightedinthemaintext.13Toendorsethisformulation,onehastoacceptthatthereissuchathingasoccurrentbelieving-in.Ifonetakesbelieving-intobealwaysdispositional,thenBrentano'sviewwouldhavetobeformulatedmorecumbersomely:alljudgmentsareoccurrentmanifestationsofbelievings-in.Forthesakeofsmoothexpositionmorethananythingelse,Iamheretreatingbelief-inasastatethatcanbeoccurrent.14TwoexceptionsareSzabó(2003)andTextor(2007),whorejecttheanalysisof‘Sbelievesinx’intermsof‘Sbelievesthatxexists,’thoughongroundsotherfromBrentano’s.15Thenameissuboptimal,insofarasbelief-incapturesonlyonehalfofthespanofjudgments–disbelief-incapturestheotherhalf.ButBIThastheadvantageofbeingcute,andItrustthereadertokeepinmindtherelevanceofdisbelief-in.16Itmightbeobjected,tomyinterpretationofBrentano’sAnerkennungasbelief-in,thatBrentanowasadamantthattherearenodegreesofacceptance,whereasonebelief-inmayverywellvaryinconfidence(constitutingakindofobjectualcredence).However,itispossibletoaccountforthedegreeofconfidenceassociatedwithabelief-innotasanaspectofthebelief-initself,butasakindofsecond-orderstatedirectedatthelikelytruthofthefirst-orderbelief-in.Initself,then,thebelief-inwouldbeabsoluteinitsexistence-commitment.17OneplacewhereBrentanosoundsnon-LeibnizianisinhisdiscussionofmereologicalrelationsamongcoloredspotsinBrentano1982Chap.2.OneplaceinwhichhementionstheLeibnizianparaphraseinasympathetictoneofvoiceisinhisdiscussionofKant’sclassificationofutterancesinBrentano1956§28.18Whathappensifthereismorethanoneindividualwiththoseproperties?Severalavenuesareopentodescriptivists–dividedreference,referencefailure,andmore–buttheissuessurroundingthispossibilityhavenothingspecificallytodowithBrentano’sproject,soIwillsetthemasidehere.19InKripke’s(1972)causaltheoryofreference,forexample,thereisarelationofnondeviantcausalchainbetweenacurrentuseofthenameandabaptismaleventinwhichthenameisintroducedinthepresenceofthenamed.20Oneoption,ofcourse,istodenythedirectreferencetheoryofnames.Forexample,itispossibletoholdthattheinsightsassociatedwithcausaltheoryofreferencecanberecoveredthroughakindofcausaldescriptivism(Kroon1987),accordingtowhichanamereferstowhateverobjectssatisfiesthetoken-reflexivedescription‘theobjectsuitablycausallylinkedtothisveryuseofthename.’Onthisview,‘Beyoncéisfamous’meansthesameas‘Theobjectsuitablycausallylinkedtothisveryuseof“Beyoncé”isfamous.’ThiswouldallowsforthestandardBrentanianparaphrase.21TheshortansweristhatforBrentanoBeyoncéandFamous-Beyoncéaretwonumericallydistinctbutspatiotemporallycoincidingobjects.22LaterinhiscareerBrentanoadoptsthemorecomplicateddouble-judgmenttheorytohandlesuchcases(seeesp.Brentano1956§30).Therearegoodreasonsforthis,butasnotedhereIamgoingtoignorethedouble-judgmenttheoryhere.(Addressingitinbriefisnotreallypossible.)23Asimilarstrategycanbeextendedtomaterialconditionals,sincepè qisequivalentto~pVq,henceto~(p&~q).Itmightbeobjectedthatdisbeliefinsumsofcorrectjudgmentsistooweaktocapturethecontentofdisjunctiveandconditionaljudgments.Theclaimisnotjustthatnobodyhasin

31

factmadetherelevantcorrectjudgments.Itisratherthatifanyonedidmakethosejudgments,theycouldnotdosocorrectly.Thislatterclaimhasamodaldepthtoitentirelymissingfromthesimplerejectionoftwocorrectjudgmentsco-occurring.Thisobjectionsmellsrighttome,butitjustinvitesdiscussionofBrentano’streatmentofmodality,onwhichBrentanohadsomeveryinterestingthingtosay,butwhichwouldtakeustoofarafield.24Theremightbesomethingoddabouttalkoftruthmakersforbeliefsin.Perhapsitmightbethoughtungrammaticaltosaythatthebeliefinducksistrue;itiscertainlymorenaturaltosaythatsuchabeliefiscorrect.Inthatcase,weshouldspeakratheroftheworldlycorrectnessmakersofbeliefs-in.Iamsympathetictoallthis,butwillstickwiththeword‘truthmaker’forsimplicity.Onthis,seeTextor2007:78-9.25Inthepresentcontext,by‘state-of-affairsontology’Imeananyontologythatadmitssuchentitiesasstatesofaffairs.AnysuchontologyfacesBradley’sregress(Bradley1893).Theproblemishowtounderstandthe‘metaphysicalglue’thatjoinsanindividualandapropertywhentogethertheycomposeastateofaffairs.Thefact(obtainingstateofaffairs)thatAlectheelectronisnegativelychargedismorethanjustthesumofthetwofactsthat(i)Alecexistsand(ii)beingnegatively-chargedisinstantiated.Itinvolvesalsosomekindof‘metaphysicalglue’that‘bringstogether’Alecandbeingnegatively-charged.Ifwetrytounderstandthis‘glue’intermsofarelationbetweenAlecandbeingnegatively-charged–‘exemplification’or‘instantiation,’say–thenwewouldrequiresomethingtoglueAlec,beingnegatively-charged,andthatrelation.Appealingtoasecond-ordermetaphysicalgluewouldonlylaunchusonaregress–Bradley’sregress.26Morespecifically,itisimplicitinBrentano’sdiscussionofthedifferencebetweenjudgmentandpresentationinChapter7ofPsychologyII.27Iwrite‘likely’becauseothercandidateexplanationsofthedifferencebetweencontemplatingandjudginghavetoberuledout(otherthanthecontentcandidate)beforewecanmoreconfidentlyassertthatthedifferenceisattitudinal.Muchoftheissueoverlapswiththequestionoftheirreducibilityofpresentationtojudgment,discussedinthepreviouschapter.28Ingeneral,Brentanotakesthestructureoflanguagetobeapoorguidetothestructureofourmentallife.Thisisstatedunequivocallyinashort1905fragmenttitled‘Language’(Brentano1930:71)andcanbefoundinvariousplacesintheaforementionedlogiccourses(e.g.,Brentano1956§12).29ThankstoMarieGuillotforpressingonmethisobjection.30ThisworkwassupportedbytheFrenchNationalResearchAgency’sANR-11-0001-02PSL*andANR-10-LABX-0087.Forcommentsonapreviousdraft,IamgratefultoGéraldineCarranante,AnnaGiustina,AlexGzrankowski,FranzKnappik,MichelleMontague,andKevinMulligan.IalsobenefitedfrompresentingrelatedmaterialsattheAustralianNationalUniversity,ColumbiaUniversity,ÉcoleNormaleSupérieure,theUniversityofGirona,andatIHPSTandIJNinParis;Iamgratefultotheaudiencesthere,inparticularDamianoCosta,ImogenDickie,NemiraGasiunas,ThibautGiraud,AnnaGiustina,VincentGrandjean,ErickLlamas,MyrtoMilopoulos,MichaelMurez,BenPhillips,DavidPineda,MariavanderSchaar,BenjaminSchnieder,MoritzSchultz,RobertStalnaker,DanielStoljar,EricTremault,AgustínVicente,andespeciallyMarieGuillot.


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