Wishing, decision theory, and two-dimensional content

Journal article


Blumberg, Kyle. (2023). Wishing, decision theory, and two-dimensional content. The Journal of Philosophy. 120(2), pp. 61-93. https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil202312024
AuthorsBlumberg, Kyle
Abstract

This paper is about two requirements on wish reports whose interaction motivates a novel semantics for these ascriptions. The first requirement concerns the ambiguities that arise when determiner phrases, such as definite descriptions, interact with ‘wish’. More specifically, several theorists have recently argued that attitude ascriptions featuring counterfactual attitude verbs license interpretations on which the determiner phrase is interpreted relative to the subject’s beliefs. The second requirement involves the fact that desire reports in general require decision-theoretic notions for their analysis. The current study is motivated by the fact that no existing account captures both of these aspects of wishing. I develop a semantics for wish reports that makes available belief-relative readings but also allows decision-theoretic notions to play a role in shaping the truth conditions of these ascriptions. The general idea is that we can analyze wishing in terms of a two-dimensional notion of expected utility.

Year2023
JournalThe Journal of Philosophy
Journal citation120 (2), pp. 61-93
PublisherJournal of Philosophy, Inc.
ISSN0022-362X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil202312024
Open accessPublished as green open access
Page range61-93
Author's accepted manuscript
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Open
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online2023
Publication process dates
Deposited07 Nov 2023
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