Objects and attitudes / Friederike Moltmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Moltmann, Friederike, author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ontology.

Propositional attitudes.

Modality (Linguistics).

Semantics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (241 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2024]

Summary:

'Objects and Attitudes' develops a radically novel semantics of attitude reports, modal sentences, and quotation based on an ontology of attitudinal, modal, and phatic objects, entities such as claims, thoughts, intentions, desires, requests, utterances, as well as needs, obligations, permissions, offers, and abilities. It systematically pursues a methodology of descriptive metaphysics - specifically, natural language ontology - and argues that natural language reflects an ontology of attitudinal and modal objects rather than an ontology of abstract propositions.

Contents:

Cover

Objects and Attitudes

Copyright

Contents

Sources and Acknowledgments

Preface

1. Problems for Propositions and Issues for the Semantics of Modals: A New Approach to the Semantics of Attitude Reports and Modal Sentences

The ontology of attitudinal and modal objects in the context of descriptive metaphysics

Concurrences with recent research in philosophy and linguistics

Responses to recent challenges to the notion of a proposition

Propositions and their problems

The standard view of propositional attitude reports and its motivations

Conceptual for propositions

Empirical problems for the Relational Analysis of attitude reports

Cognitive propositions and their problems

Attitudinal-​objects semantics

The semantics of attitude reports based on attitudinal objects

Attitudinal-​objects semantics and the conceptual problems for propositions

Attitudinal objects and special quantifiers

Attitudinal-​objects semantics for specificational sentences

The semantics of modals with modal objects

The semantics of attitudinal nouns

A Davidsonian event-​based alternative semantics of attitude reports?

The question of the priority of attitudinal objects and the corresponding act

Summary

2. The Ontology of Attitudinal and Modal Objects

The ontology of satisfiable objects

Types of attitudinal objects

The role of attitudinal objects in thought and communication

Kinds of attitudinal objects

Modal objects

Characteristic properties of attitudinal and modal objects

Properties of concreteness and endurance

Content-​related properties

Satisfaction predicates of attitudinal and modal objects

Truth predicates

Predicates of fulfillment and acceptance

Predicates of realization

Similarity relations based on sameness of content.

Part structure based on partial content only

The source and scope of satisfaction conditions for attitudinal and modal objects

Attitudinal and modal objects and the sharing of content

Intensional objects

The relation of attitudinal and modal objects to acts

Attitudinal objects as products or artifacts produced by acts

Attitudinal objects as results of acts

Attitudinal objects and states

Twardowski's action-​product distinction and the Aspectual Theory of products

Conclusions

3. Object-​based Truthmaker Semantics, Norms of Truth, and Direction of Fit

Outline of sentence-​based truthmaker semantics

Truthmaker-​based content of satisfiable objects

Partial content and partial satisfaction for satisfiables

Satisfiables and their satisfiers and possible violators

Possible-​worlds-​based and truthmaker-​based contents for sentences as predicates of content bearers

Modal products and modal states for strong and weak permissions

Truthmaker-​related ontological operations for satisfiables

Types of satisfaction predicates and the notion of direction of fit

Predicates of truth and predicates of fulfillment

Correctness of attitudinal objects and the normativity of truth

The notion of direction of fit

The direction of fit of hopes and desires

Satisfaction conditions of intentions and decisions

Appendix 3.1: Truth predicates in natural language and deflationist and minimalist views of truth

4. Object-​Based Truthmaker Semantics for Modals

A semantics of modals based on modal objects

The logical form of modal sentences

Modal objects and their truthmakers

Modal objects and the notion of a modal base

Graded and comparative modality

Inferences with deontic modal sentences

Conditions on modal objects

Strong and weak permissions.

Inferences with deontic modal sentences

Comparison with Fine (2018b)

Object-​based truthmaker semantics for other modals

5. The Syntax and Semantics of Basic Attitude Reports

Basic attitude reports

The semantics of basic attitude reports

Attitudinal-​object nouns, clausal modifiers, and determiner choice

Backgrounded attitudinal objects

The semantics of independent sentences and performative attitude verbs and modals

Compositional semantics of basic attitude reports

The syntax and semantics of complement clauses

The syntax and semantics of special quantifiers as complements of attitude verbs

Harmonic modals

Appendix 5.1: Truthmaker-​based content of attitudinal objects and opacity

Appendix 5.2: Do clauses give the complete content or a partial content of a satisfiable?

6. Levels of Linguistic Acts and the Semantics of Saying and Quoting

The ontology of locutionary and phatic objects

Austin's levels of linguistic acts

The distinction between illocutionary and locutionary objects

The basic semantics of locutionary say and phatic say

Pure quotations as predicates

The distinction between locutionary and phatic acts

Thin locutionary and illocutionary objects

Manner of speaking verbs

Words-​NPs as complements of verbs of saying

The syntax and semantics of locutionary verbs

The syntax and semantics of simple locutionary say

The syntax and semantics of direct quotes as complements of verbs of saying

The semantics of pure quotes as complements of verbs of saying

The semantics of direct quotes as complements of verbs of saying

Mixed quotation

Conclusion

7. Clauses in Functions Other than as Predicates of Modal and Attitudinal Objects

Facts as modal objects

Linguistic motivations for facts as denotations of that-​clauses.

The ontology of facts as modal objects

States of affairs as modal objects

Linguistic evidence for states of affairs as denotations of nominal clauses

Thin assertions and predicates of truth

Clauses as predicates of truthmakers?

Topic-​related locutionary verbs

8. Conclusions and Avenues for Further Development

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on October 16, 2024).

ISBN:

9780190878511

0190878517

9780190878504

0190878509

9780190878498

0190878495

OCLC:

1452295741