Smith, Thomas H.; (2002) Groups, minds and group minds. Masters thesis (M.Phil), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Chapter One sets out the orthodox view: (O₁) groups exist; (O₂) group minds do not exist. It summarizes the thesis: (O₂) is false; the negation of (O₂) is our only reason for (O₁). Chapter Two sketches a simple argument that apparently shows (O₁) and (O₂) to be inconsistent. It considers the responses available to the defender of the orthodox view. Chapter Three discusses the desperate response, which renounces (O₁). It argues that it is ill-motivated and ill-equipped to account for the truth of ordinary language sentences. It shows that its most convincing formulation collapses under scrutiny into a position that embraces (O₁). Chapter Four considers the resigned response, which denies (O₂), and the reasonable response, which reconciles (O₁) and (O₂) by means of the claim that groups are pluralities, not entities. It urges that the resigned response is too committed to be generally acceptable, and that the reasonable response will fail if groups have psychological properties that can only be borne by subjects that survive the loss of their parts. Chapter Five argues that our dealings with groups, including our interpretations of them, commit us to the view that some groups have psychological properties that can only be borne by persisting entities. It concludes that the resigned response is appropriate for such groups. But it does not deny that many groups have no such properties, and so claims that the existence of many groups, even those that are the subjects of psychological predication, need not entail that group minds exist. For such groups the reasonable response is adequate. Chapter Six suggests that persisting groups have no material properties, and that they bear analogies with Descartes' angels.

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