Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 18, 2026

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task
Published on: July 22, 2025
Attitudes and Mental Files in Discourse Representation Theory
1Department of Philosophy, University of Groningen, Oude Boteringestraat 52, 9712GL Groningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
I present a concrete DRT-based syntax and semantics for the representation of mental states in the style of Kamp (1990). This system is closely related to Recanati's (2012) Mental Files framework, but adds a crucial distinction between anchors, the analogues of mental files, and attitudes like belief, desire and imagination. Attitudes are represented as separate compartments that can be referentially dependent on anchors. I show how the added distinctions help defend the useful notion of an acquaintance-based mental file against Ninan's (Inquiry 58(4):368-377 2015) recent challenge involving counterfactual de re attitudes.
Related Concept Videos
Attitudes
Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory
Attribution Theory
Stereotype Content Model
Traits and States
Implicit Personality Theories

