Know-how and why self-regulation will not go away

In the 1940s, Gilbert Ryle argued that knowing how to do something is not just a matter of being well-regulated but also a matter of self-regulation. Ryle appears to have thought that know-how requires self-regulation in both a backward-looking and forward-looking sense, but both ideas run counter to ordinary intuitions about know-how. The basic idea behind self-regulation, undertaking trials and adjusting to feedback, is captured by the law of effect. Daniel Dennett has argued that the law of effect will not go away. After updating Dennett's Tower of Generate-and-Test through a broad survey of the empirical literature on learning, I identify a Rylean intuition about intelligence and argue that self-regulation in a forward-looking sense is necessary for know-how.

Automated summary

In the 1940s, Gilbert Ryle argued that knowing how to do something requires not only being well-regulated but also self-regulated. He believed that self-regulation is essential both in looking back and looking forward. This contradicts common intuitions about know-how. After reviewing the empirical literature on learning, I update Daniel Dennett's Tower of Generate-and-Test and identify a Rylean intuition about intelligence, arguing that self-regulation in a forward-looking sense is necessary for know-how.