In our current education system learning is organized as a series of sequential steps and the curriculum is constituted by a set of independent objects. Here students are not encouraged to make connections between subjects or between the subjects and their own personal lives. In this positivistic view of reality teaching is reduced to technique. This thesis is a reflection on the nature and importance of a more holistic and interconnected education. Using the concept of "non-linear learning" as an organizing principle, it outlines the various components of an alternative paradigm.

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In this project, I defend a holistic, internalist conceptual-role theory of mental content (‘Holism’, for short). The account of communicative success which must be adopted by the Holist is generally thought to be unattractive and perhaps even untenable. The primary aim of my thesis is to show that this account is actually far more plausible than the accounts available to competing theories of mental content. Holism is thought to suffer from a special problem of communication because it entails that no two subjects ever mean the same thing by an utterance of the same word-forms, or share the same thought content. Many think that it is necessary for communicative success (or, at least, sometimes required) that the content grasped by the hearer is the same content as that which is expressed by the speaker. As such, theories such as social externalism are thought to be well-equipped to explain communicative success because they can posit shared content. Holism claims that subjects think, and speak, in their own idiosyncratic idiolects. As such, Holists must deny that it is ever required for communicative success that subjects share content. Holists must maintain instead that successful communication requires only similarity of content between speaker and hearer. This is supposed to be a serious cost of the view. In this project, I argue that it is, in fact, a virtue. Views like Holism, which can posit only mere similarity of content, are better placed to explain communicative success than views which can posit shared content. In the first part of my thesis, I argue that externalist theories of content face a dilemma when it comes to explaining communicative success. They must choose between (a), endorsing an account of communication which renders the relationship between the content expressed by the speaker and grasped by the hearer irrelevant to communicative success and (b), endorsing an account which gives implausible diagnoses as to the success and failure of communicative attempts. I argue that the reason that externalist theories face this dilemma is because they allow that content and understanding can come apart. Interestingly, it is, in part, because they posit a communal language that they face the dilemma. In contrast, the Holist’s similar content account does not face the dilemma. It can naturally incorporate understanding into its explanation of how mental content facilitates communicative success because, on Holism, understanding perfectly tracks mental content. In the second part of my thesis, I develop an account of communicative success for the Holist and defend the account from objections. The account claims that communication succeeds to the degree that content is similar across communication partners. In defending the view, I propose a criterion for similarity of content for the Holist. I also argue that (pure) internalists can agree with externalists as to the extensions of concepts and the truth-conditions of contents without the need to appeal to any factors outside of the individual. Finally, I explain how my account of communication impacts upon a theory of testimony. Most work on testimony stipulates that the content of the testimony grasped by the hearer is the same as that expressed by the speaker. I present and defend an account of testimony which claims instead that testimonial exchanges can be successful even when the content grasped by the hearer is merely similar to the content expressed by the speaker.

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殷子俊. / "2004年7月". / 論文(哲學碩士)--香港中文大學, 2004. / 參考文獻(leaves 101-106). / "2004 nian 7 yue". / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Yin Zijun. / Lun wen (zhe xue shuo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2004. / Can kao wen xian (leaves 101-106). / 摘要 --- p.i / 鳴謝 --- p.iii / Chapter 第一章 --- 引言 --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- 本文主旨 --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- 二十世紀語意整全論的先驅一奎因 --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- 整全論的性質 --- p.6 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- 整全論與分子論 --- p.8 / Chapter 1.4 --- 整全論的分類 --- p.12 / Chapter 第二章 --- 真理與意義 --- p.14 / Chapter 2.1 --- 戴維森的語意理論 --- p.14 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- 戴維森的約定T理論 --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- 外延滿足性及組合性 --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- 約定T理論的技術問題 --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2 --- 戴維森的真理理論 --- p.24 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- 爲真理的槪念辯護 --- p.24 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- 兩種錯誤的真理觀 --- p.29 / Chapter 2.3 --- 意義、信念與真理 --- p.34 / Chapter 第三章 --- 徹底的詮釋 --- p.37 / Chapter 3.1 --- 翻譯與詮釋 --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2 --- 徹底的詮釋 --- p.40 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- 寬容原則 --- p.42 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- 三角測量 --- p.48 / Chapter 3.3 --- 戴維森的整全論 --- p.51 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- 從徹底的詮釋到整全論 --- p.52 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- 戴維森整全論的歸類 --- p.56 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- 整全論與組合性 --- p.59 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- 整全論與理解 --- p.62 / Chapter 第四章 --- 溝通的整全性一論弗達與拿玻的反整全論 --- p.65 / Chapter 4.1 --- 弗達與拿玻的立場與前設 --- p.65 / Chapter 4.2 --- 弗達與拿玻的論證 --- p.67 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- 組合性論證 --- p.69 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- 規範性論證 --- p.80 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- 寬容原則論證 --- p.84 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- 信念的基本性論證 --- p.89 / Chapter 4.3 --- 總結：徹底詮釋論與語意整全論 --- p.94 / 詞彙翻譯對照表 --- p.98 / 哲學家譯名對照表 --- p.100 / 參考書目 --- p.101

Thesis (doctoral)--South Bank Polytechnic, 1990. / BLDSC reference no.: DX94587.

No description available.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: John (Jack) Miller.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-219).

Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-98).