Meaning Is Reference

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What is the meaning of ‘Earth’?

bad question!

‘entities such as meanings ...
are not of independent interest’

\citep[p.~154]{Davidson:1974gh}

Davidson, 1974 p. 154

independent of what?

Steve’s Oct 4th, 2018 1.11pm utterance
‘Earth is being warmed by human activity.’
is true because Earth is being warmed by human activity.

Steve’s Oct 4th, 2018 1.11pm utterance
‘Mars is being warmed by human activity.’
is false because Mars is not being warmed by human activity.

Here is a true utterance.

...and here is a false utterance.

What makes for this difference between the two utterances? Why is one true but the other false? This is an easy question to answer, I think ...

Now for a much harder question ...

Now for a much harder question: Why is ’s’ true because p? How does it come about that this is what makes the utterance true?

Why is this amazing? (You might think it’s too obvious to be amazing, but some philosophy is about finding the amazing in the obvious.)

this is a fact about humans

this is a fact about words

yet they are causally linked

in the strong sense that if I intervene on the humans, I change the fact about the words!

Why?

Steve’s Oct 4th, 2018 1.11pm utterance
‘Earth is being warmed by human activity.’
is true because Earth is being warmed by human activity.

Steve’s Oct 4th, 2018 1.11pm utterance
‘Mars is being warmed by human activity.’
is false because Mars is not being warmed by human activity.

I want to mention a clue so obvious that it is easy to overlook.

Think about the two utterances, how one has this word ‘Earth’ ...

What makes the utterance true or false has to depend on the words the sentence it expresses contains. But what are those words doing? What is it about them which contributes to determining which state of affairs makes the utterance true?

‘entities such as meanings ...
are not of independent interest’

\citep[p.~154]{Davidson:1974gh}

Davidson, 1974 p. 154

independent of what? Of our explanatory interests!

Facts in need of explanation:

Steve’s Oct 4th, 2018 1.11pm utterance
‘Earth is being warmed by human activity.’
is true because Earth is being warmed by human activity.

Steve’s Oct 4th, 2018 1.11pm utterance
‘Mars is being warmed by human activity.’
is false because Mars is not being warmed by human activity.

Postulating attributes of words, call them ‘meanings’, will enable us to explain these facts.

\section{The Question} Consider utterances of the following sentences: \begin{enumerate} \item ‘Earth is being warmed by human activity.’ \item ‘Mars is being warmed by human activity.’ \end{enumerate} The first depends for it’s truth on how things are with Earth whereas the second depends for its truth on how things are with Mars. Why do the two utterances differ in this way?

\section{Reference} Guess: It is because the utterance of ‘Earth’ stands in some relation to Earth whereas the utterance of ‘Mars’ stands in that relation to Mars.

Terminology: Call this relation ‘reference’.

Question: What is this relation? Is there really any such relation at all?

What is the meaning of ‘Earth’?

Simple idea: ‘Earth’ means Earth.

Simple idea: ‘Mars’ means Mars.

The meaning of a word is the thing it is used to refer to.

Q1. If we take this view of meanings, can we explain the first fact in need of explanation?

Facts in need of explanation:

Steve’s Oct 4th, 2018 1.11pm utterance
‘Earth is being warmed by human activity.’
is true because Earth is being warmed by human activity.

Steve’s Oct 4th, 2018 1.11pm utterance
‘Mars is being warmed by human activity.’
is false because Mars is not being warmed by human activity.

Let’s do it again with new facts ...

Fact in need of explanation:

Steve’s utterance of ‘Touch your nose’ caused me to touch my nose,

whereas

Steve’s utterance of ‘Touch your ear’ caused me to touch my ear.

Behold the extraorinary power of language!

nb it’s a fact about knowledge (communication by language is a

activity ...)

Meaning is reference.

[the formal question] What kind of things are meanings?

[the mapping question] In virtue of what does a given word have a particular meaning?

[the linking question] What links the mind and actions of a particular language user to the facts about meaning?

Which if any of these questions does the view that meaning is reference enable us to answer?

Method:

1. Identify a fact which stands in need of explanation.

2. Show that postulating some attribute of words can, together with some principles, provide a candidate explanation of the fact.

Terminology: label the attribute ‘meaning’.

General point:

If you are going to postulate meanings (or referents, or senses, or ...), make sure, minimally, that

you have identified a fact, or some facts, which stand in need of explanation

and that

the meanings can explain the facts.

What is the meaning of ‘Earth’?

Simple idea: ‘Earth’ means Earth.

Simple idea: ‘Mars’ means Mars.

The meaning of a word is the thing it is used to refer to.

Q1. If we take this view of meanings, can we explain the first fact in need of explanation?

We already asked this question; you can see in outline how it might be answered.

Q2. Is there anything meanings are needed to explain which we cannot explain if we take this view of them?

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Meaning Is Reference

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