Philosophy of Language A-Z by Alessandra Tanesini

Author:Alessandra Tanesini [Tanesini, Alessandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-02-17T05:00:00+00:00

March 2, 2007

8:38

PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE A–Z

95

potentially beyond us to detect whether or not they obtain (that is, the truth conditions are evidence- or verification-transcendent). Dummett argues that what we know when we understand a sentence must manifest itself in our use of language. That is to say, to understand a sentence is to have certain practical abilities that we exercise in speaking and listening. But, Dummett continues, if to understand a sentence consisted in knowing some verification-transcendent truth conditions, as the semantic realist claims, there would be no actual practical abilities that could count as manifesting that knowledge. This is because we are not able to detect or recognise evidence-transcendent truth conditions. Hence, our knowledge of them could not be manifested in our ability to recognise them when they obtain. Critics have argued that Dummett’s conception of what counts as a manifestation of a piece of knowledge is too narrow.

See Acquisition argument; Communicability argument; Verification transcendence

Further reading: Hale (1999)

Mass term: A term which, like ‘water’, ‘platinum’ or ‘furniture’, refers to a non-countable kind. It is because it makes no sense to ask how many of them there are that furniture, water and gold are mass terms. Typically, mass terms have the semantic property of referring cumula-tively: the sum of any two parts of it is also a part of it.

Thus, the sum of any two parts of water that are water is also water. It does not follow, however, that any part of the mass kind is referred to. Thus, oxygen molecules are parts of water which are not water, and there are parts of furniture which are not in themselves furniture.

See Count term; Matter term; Natural kind term; Sortal Material adequacy, criterion of See Convention T

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