Jerry A. Fodor Quotes & Sayings

One man's modus ponens is another man's reductio, as epistemologists are forever pointing out (In Critical Condition, p. 70) — Jerry A. Fodor

Some philosophers hold that philosophy is what you do to a problem until it's clear enough to solve it by doing science. Others hold that if a philosophical problem succumbs to empirical methods, that shows it wasn't really philosophical to begin with. — Jerry A. Fodor

There is a gap between the mind and the world, and (as far as anybody knows) you need to posit internal representations if you are to have a hope of getting across it. Mind the gap. You'll regret it if you don't. — Jerry A. Fodor

Self-pity can make one weep, as can onions. — Jerry A. Fodor

If the Mentalese story about the content of thought is true, then there couldn't be a private language argument. Good. That explains why there isn't one. (In Critical Condition, p. 68) — Jerry A. Fodor

The sun will rise tomorrow morning; I know that perfectly well. But figuring out how I could know it is, as Hume pointed out, a bit of a puzzle. — Jerry A. Fodor

Only a philosopher would consider taking Oedipus as a model for a normal, unproblematic relation between an action and the maxim of the act. — Jerry A. Fodor

It does bear emphasis that slippery-slope arguments are notoriously invalid. — Jerry A. Fodor