Meaning, thought and reality

Meaning, thought and reality

1. Reference

   • referring and non-referring expressions
     • Linguistic expressions
       • do not identify entities
     • Nouns
       • instances to refer or not
   • constant vs variable
     • constant
     • variable
       • context
   • referents and extensions
     • referent
       • specific thing
     • extensions
       • set of things

2. names

   • description theory
     • associate names
   • causal theory
     • socially inherited

3. nouns and noun phrases

   • definite
     • whoever fits
   • quantifiers
     • class of entities

4. theory of meaning

   • Problems
     • Words with no meaning
     • nominal expressions without referent
     • one-to-one correspondence
   • pick our elements

5. mental representations

   • abstract concept
   • images
   • speaker's mind

6. concepts

   • lexicalized concepts
     • Linguistic relativity
       • Franz boas
         • language mirror cultures
       • Edward sapir
         • language guides social reality
       • Lee Whorf
         • meaning derives from grammatical systems
     • Language of thought hypothesis
       • thinking without language
       • Language underspecifies meaning
   • necessary and sufficient conditions
   • Prototypes
     • model of concepts
     • exemplars
   • acquired by examples
     • onstentive definition
   • utility

7. Thought and reality

   • ontology
   • epistemology
   • mental constructivism