Meaning diminished : toward metaphysically modest semantics / Kenneth A. Taylor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Taylor, Kenneth Allen, 1954-2019, author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Meaning (Philosophy).

Semantics (Philosophy).

Metaphysics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 206 pages)

Edition:

First edition

Other Title:

Toward metaphysically modest semantics

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2019.

Summary:

'Meaning Diminished' examines the complex relationship between semantic analysis and metaphysical inquiry. Kenneth A. Taylor argues that we should expect linguistic and conceptual analysis of natural language to yield far less metaphysical insight into what there is - and the nature of what there is - than many philosophers have imagined. Taking a strong stand against the so-called linguistic turn in philosophy, Taylor contends that philosophers as diverse as Kant, with his Transcendental Idealism, Frege, with his aspirational Platonism, Carnap with his distinction between internal and external questions, and Strawson, with his descriptive metaphysics, have placed too much confidence in the ability of linguistic and conceptual analysis to achieve deep insight into matters of ultimate metaphysics.

Contents:

Semantic analysis and metaphysical inquiry

The metaphysical modesty of narrowly linguistic semantics

The ways of ideas and the way of reference

Some considerations against the way of ideas

Modesty as incompleteness : feature or bus?

Against the metaphysical transparency of semantic adicity

Metaphysical embarrassment, indefinite modifiability, and rules of use

Conclusion : a way forward in semantics and metaphysics.

Notes:

This edition previously issued in print: 2019.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-252519-0

0-19-184162-5

0-19-252518-2