Meaning

This text brings together some of the most significant contemporary philosophical work on linguistic representation and understanding, providing an introduction to core questions in the philosophy of language. The anthology includes classic articles by key figures such as Frege, Quine, Putanm, Kripke, and Davidson; and recent reactions to this work by philosophers including Mark Wilson, Scott Soames, James Higginbotham, Frank Jackson, Alex Byrne, and Paul Bogohossian. The topics discussed include analyticity; translational indeterminacy; theories of reference; meaning as use; the nature of linguistic competence; truth and meaning; and relations between semantics and metaphysics. An extensive introduction gives detailed critical evaluation of the seminal views and arguments contained in the anthology. This is intended as a principal text for courses in the philosophy of language.
Contents: 1. Introduction: Conceptions of Meaning: Mark Richard 2. "On Sense and Reference": Gottlob Frege 3. From Naming and Necessity: Saul Kripke 4. "Meaning and Reference": Hilary Putnam 5. "Predicate Meets Property": Mark Wilson 6. From Meaning: Paul Horwich 7. From "Ontological Relativity": W. V. O. Quine 8. From "The Indeterminancy of Translation and the Inscrutability of Reference": Scott Soames. 9. "Individuation, Causal Relations, and Quine": Jody Azzouni 10. "Radical Interpretation": Donald Davidson 11. "Semantics and Semantic Competence": Scott Soames 12. "Truth and Understanding": James Higginbotham 13. From "Indexicals and Demonstratives": John Perry 14. Two Dogmas of Empiricism: W.V.O. Quine 15. Armchair Metaphysics. Mind, Method and Conditionals: Frank Jackson.