Pink Elephants

From: DYE Matt (mdye@cogsci.soton.ac.uk)
Date: Wed Mar 06 1996 - 16:07:52 GMT


> If you say you are thinking of a pink elephant then do I know
> that you are? Because if you were not then how could
> you say that you are? (Admitted, I do not know if you are
> either thinking about a pink elephant or visualising a pink
> elephant, or even that what you mean by PE is the same as
> what I do.)

The scene: a courtroom. A man is being tried for murder.

Prosecuter: Did you kill Mrs A on the night of February 12th, 1996?

Defendant: No, Sir! I did not!

Let's say that the defendant DID kill Mrs A on the night of February
12th, 1996. Does he need to be thinking about not commiting the murder
when he says that he did not do it? Or is it possible for him to be
thinking about commiting the murder, yet say he did not?

The big question is: do you need to be thinking about something in
order to say it? And do you need to be thinking about X in order to say
that you are thinking about X?

What does everyone think?

Matt



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