New Books in Philosophy Frances Egan, "Deflating Mental Representation" (MIT Press, 2025)
Aug 10, 2025
Frances Egan, an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University, dives deep into her groundbreaking work, "Deflating Mental Representation." She challenges conventional views on mental representation by advocating for a naturalistic approach that prioritizes neural mechanisms over abstract constructs. Egan critiques traditional theories of intentionality and highlights the complexities of linking mental states to cognitive processes. Her insights promise to reshape how we understand thoughts, the mind, and even the implications for AI and non-human animals.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Training Under The Churchlands
- Frances Egan studied at the University of Manitoba with Pat and Paul Churchland.
- She absorbed their eliminativist influence yet remained a non-eliminativist deflationist.
Three Core Deflationary Claims
- Frances Egan denies a special substantive representation or reference relation.
- She treats content attributions as pragmatic glosses of neural mechanisms.
Use Glosses Pragmatically In Explanation
- Use content attributions pragmatically to model private mental processes rather than treat them as literal properties.
- Apply glosses when they clarify explanatory or practical aims, not as metaphysical claims.
