Toby's Choice

I did retrieve part of the Toby story. It relates to what J and I call "Sophie's Choice" (What kind of hamburger). This is from Grice's "Conception of Value" (Appendix). Grice is trying to focus, as J and I do, on '... wills that...' (we assume that 'will' involves 'free' -- and the point is whether a free will is ill will or good will, further). Etc.


1. Toby, the squarrel has nuts in front of him.


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2. The squarrel is short on squirrel-food
(observed or assumed).


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3. The squarrel wants (wills, wishes, desires)
squirrel-food (By Psychological Postulate,
connecting 'wish' with intake of nuts)


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4. The squarrel prehends nuts as in front
(From (1) by Psychological Postulate, if
it is assumed that 'nuts' and 'in front'
are familiar to the squarrel)


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5. The squarrel joins squirrel-food with gobbling
and nuts and in front (The squirrel judges
gobbling, on nuts, in front, for squarrel-food)
(by Psychological Postulate, with the aid of
prior observation), so by Psychological Law,
from 3, 4, and 5:


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Ergo:

6. The squarrel gobbles, and since nuts _are_
in front of him, gobbles the nuts in front of
him.



H. P. Grice, 'Method in philosophical
psychology: from the banal to the
bizarre', Proceedings of the American
Philosophical Association, Presidential
Address, vol. 48. Repr. in his book,
_The Conception of Value_. Oxford:
Clarendon, p. 137.

Or something.