ABSTRACT
Dennett defends an ‘instrumentalist’ conception of minds: in his opinion, the utility of talk about minds and their contents – beliefs, desires, and the like – depends on its usefulness for description and explanation. A view of this kind could be contrasted with ‘realist’ conceptions. Realists take talk of minds and their contents to resemble talk of planets, rocks, and trees. Beliefs, desires, pains, and emotions are genuine constituents of the world, constituents that make a causal difference in the behavior of sentient creatures.
