Viera, G.A. orcid.org/0000-0002-3183-2294 (2025) Representation without informative signalling. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 76 (1). pp. 243-267. ISSN 0007-0882
Abstract
Various writers have attempted to use the sender–receiver formalism to account for the representational capacities of biological systems. This article has two goals. First, I argue that the sender–receiver approach to representation cannot be complete. The mammalian circadian system represents the time of day, yet it does not control circadian behaviours by producing signals with time of day content. Informative signalling need not be the basis of our most basic representational capacities. Second, I argue that representational capacities are primarily about control, and only when specific conditions obtain does this control require informative signalling.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 British Society for the Philosophy of Science. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > Department of Philosophy (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Jan 2022 13:58 |
Last Modified: | 17 Mar 2025 15:17 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | University of Chicago Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1086/718205 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:182622 |