LIGN 130 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-2: Language Game, Twin Earth Thought Experiment, Possible World
13 Apr 2017
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Meaning holism: the meaning of a word or phrase depends on its relationships with other words and phrases. Problem: holism has to find a way to say which of the relations among words and phrases are important to semantics. The semantic system of a language is an interconnected network. All meanings will be relative to the whole system. No quick and easy path to a complete theory of meaning. Objection to idea theory: twin earth thought experiments. Mental lives may be identical but meanings can differ. Implies that meanings are not ideas because words refer partially to the environment in which people live. We don"t have the same mental constructs relating to the world. Each meaningful piece of language comes to have roles in the language game. Conflict with a basic insight of modern linguistics that languages are not arbitrary social conventions but rather reveal deeper universal patterns. No important role to the intuition of what is an appropriate response.
