Does the Hidden Indexical Theory of Belief Reports Have a Logical Form Problem?
Does the Hidden Indexical Theory of Belief Reports Have a Logical Form Problem?

Summary/Abstract: On the hidden indexical theory of belief reports (Crimmins and Perry1989), believing the proposition that Mark Twain was a writer is believing itunder a mode of presentation. This view faces the logical form problem (Schiffer1992): belief is said to be a relation between three arguments (agent, proposition,mode of presentation), yet the predicate “believes” is a relation between just anagent and a proposition. I sketch two solutions to the problem, one semantic andone pragmatic (Larson and Ludlow 1993, Jaszczolt 2000). Both solutions involvequantifying not only over modes, but also over types of modes of presentation. Iconclude with a methodological argument in favor of Jaszczolt’s solution.

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