A Mental Files Approach to Delusional Misidentification

Wilkinson, S.

Abstract

I suggest that we can think of delusional misidentification in terms of systematic errors in the management of mental files. I begin by sketching the orthodox “bottom-up” aetiology of delusional misidentification. I suggest that the orthodox aetiology can be given a descriptivist or a singularist interpretation. I present three cases that a descriptivist interpretation needs to account for. I then introduce a singularist approach, one that is based on mental files, and show how it opens the way for different and potentially more plausible accounts of these three cases. I reflect on how this mental files approach can be viewed either as a supplement to the orthodox aetiology, or as suggesting an altogether different aetiology. I end by addressing a concern surrounding the explanatory power of mental files.

Citation

Wilkinson, S. (2016). A Mental Files Approach to Delusional Misidentification. Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 7(2), 389-404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-015-0260-5

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 10, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Apr 23, 2015
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Oct 20, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: May 25, 2018
• Journal: Review of Philosophy and Psychology
• Print ISSN: 1878-5158
• Electronic ISSN: 1878-5166
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 389-404
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-015-0260-5
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1373918