Meaning Diminished: Toward Metaphysically Modest Semantics

by Kenneth A. Taylor

Overview

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. He urges philosophers who seek such insight to turn away from the interrogation of language and concepts and back to the more direct interrogation of reality itself. In doing so, he maps out the way forward toward a metaphysically modest semantics, in which semantics carries less weighty metaphysical burdens, and toward a revisionary and naturalistic metaphysics, untethered to the a priori analysis of ordinary language.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198803447
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/18/2019
Pages:	222
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Kenneth A. Taylor, Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy, Stanford University

Kenneth Taylor is Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University. He is also director of Stanford's interdisciplinary program in Symbolic Systems. His work lies at the intersection of the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind, and he also writes about the metaphysics of normativity. He is the author of many books and articles, as well as the co-host and co-creator of the long-running, nationally syndicated radio program and podcast, Philosophy Talk.

Table of Contents

Preface1. Semantic Analysis and Metaphysical Inquiry2. The Metaphysical Modesty of Narrowly Linguistic Semantics3. The Way of Ideas and the Way of Reference4. Some Considerations against the Way of Ideas5. Modesty as Incompleteness: Feature or Bug? 6. Against the Metaphysical Transparency of Semantic Adicity7. Metaphysical Embarrassment, Indefinite Modifiability and Rules of Use8. Conclusion: A Way Forward in Semantics and Metaphysics