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The Logic of Appearance: Dennett, Phenomenology and Psychoanalysis

Jasper Feyaerts, Stijn Vanheule

Frontiers in Psychology August 22, 2017 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01437 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Topics Philosophy of mind
Citations 1
Key points Argues that Dennett's neurocognitive reconstruction, contemporary phenomenology, and psychoanalysis can be differentiated by their respective 'logic of appearance,' and proposes that psychoanalytic theory offers a way to address disagreements over the first-person perspective, conscious experience and belief, and naturalization.

Abstract

In the present essay, we aim to develop and contrast three different positions toward Sellars' distinction between the manifest and scientific images of man: Dennett's philosophical reconstruction of neurocognitive science, contemporary phenomenology and psychoanalysis. We will suggest that these respective traditions and the substantial differences between them can be understood in terms of a 'logic of appearance.' Related to this are differing ideas about the rights and limits of the first-person perspective, the relation between conscious experience and belief, and the issue of naturalization. In the final part, we will try to specify, on the basis of a detailed reading of the disagreement between Dennett and phenomenology, in what way psychoanalytic theory could respond to these different issues.

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