Content Externalism and the Epistemic Conception of the Self

Abstract:     
I consider the relation among three views.
(A) Externalism about content.
(B) Internalism about the self.
(C) An epistemic conception of the limits of the self.
Most contemporary philosophers accept (A) and (B). I call the conjunction of these two claims standard externalism. Standard externalism contrasts with 'extended mind' externalism, which accepts (A) but rejects (B). Standard externalists are largely silent as to how they conceive the self; statement (C) simply expresses one natural conception of the self. I argue that this triad (A)-(C) is unstable, in that plausible ways of specifying the epistemic features mentioned in (C) yield conceptions of the self that undermine standard externalism. But rejecting (C), by adopting a non-epistemic conception of the self, is equally unpromising. This best option is to reject (A) or (B), and thereby to reject standard externalism.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 18

Keywords: externalism, mental content, self, personal identity, extended mind

Accepted Paper Series