Meaning, Thought and Reality

Meaning, Thought and Reality

1. Reference

   • Types of reference
     • Referring and no referring expressions
     • Constant versus variable reference
       • constant references
         • variable reference
           • deixis
     • Referents and extensions
       • referent
         • entension
           • denotation
   • Names
     • Description theory
     • Causal theory
   • Nouns and noun phrases
     • Can be use to refer: indefinite and definite NPs
     • Presupposition
       • Destributively
         • colectively
           • quantifiers

2. Reference as a Theory of Meaning

   • Give the meaning of a word one shows what is denotes: reference picks out elements in the real world

3. Mental Representations

   • A noun is said to gain its ability to denote because it is associated with something in the speaker/heares´s mind
   • Concepts
     • The meaning of a noun is a combination of it´s denotation and a conceptual element
   • Necessary and sufficient conditions
     • This theory views concepts as lists of bits of knowledge: the necessary and sufficient conditions for something to be an example of that concept
   • Prototypes
     • Is a model of concepts
   • Relations between concepts
     • Relational
     • Conceptual hierarchies
     • Inclusion
   • Acquiring concepts
     • Ostensive definition
       • the idea that children acquire concepts by being directed to examples in the world

4. Words, Concepts and Thinking

   • Linguistic relativity
     • Language of thought
       • Cognitive science