Analyzing a concept can (perhaps) tell you what the concept means (at least means to some philosophers), but it does not tell you anything about whether the concept is true of anything in the world.
Patricia ChurchlandWhen philosophers try to understand consciousness, much of what they claim is not conceptual analysis at all, though it may be shopped under that description.
Patricia ChurchlandI am less attracted to guesses about what cannot be done, than about making progress on a problem.
Patricia ChurchlandI made the assumption, wrong of course, that conceptual analysis was a brief preliminary on the road to finding out about the nature of free will, consciousness, the self, the origin of values, and so forth.
Patricia ChurchlandMany mammals and birds have systems for strong self-control, and it is not difficult to see why such systems were advantageous and were selected for. Biding your time, deferring gratification, staying still, foregoing sex for safety, and so forth, is essential in getting food, in surviving, and in successful reproduction.
Patricia Churchland