Grice on the phrase 'rational reconstruction' ("Causal Theory of Perception", 1961, repr. WoW:225)

by J. L. Speranza
for the Grice Club.

For the record, Grice himself on 'rational reconstruction':

From the WoW reprint, p. 225

"It might be held that it is the
task of the philosopher of perception
not to elucidate or characterise the
ordinary notion of perceiving a
material object, but to provide
a rational reconstruction of
it, to replace it by some concept
more appropriate to an ideal or
scientific language."

Echoes of Carnap -- vis a vis Carnap's and Neurath's problems with phenomenalism.

Grice goes on:

"it might further be suggested that
such a redefinition might be formulated
in terms of the effect of the presence
of an object upon the observer's
sense-organ and nervous system or upon
his behaviour of 'behaviour-tendencies'
or in terms of these effects."

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I.e. physicalism vs. behaviourism.

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He goes on to say that he will "not be concerned with theories on these lines". So there!