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Full-Text Articles in Philosophy of Language

Bytes, Banter, And The Bible: An Interdisciplinary Account Of Objective Meaning, Cameron Bonin Jan 2025

Bytes, Banter, And The Bible: An Interdisciplinary Account Of Objective Meaning, Cameron Bonin

Senior Honors Theses

The claim that the Bible has objective meaning is contested in a postmodern world. This claim can be more persuasively defended when it is addressed by insights from multiple disciplines. In particular, the field of computer science is apt to illuminate the concept of meaning through its reflection on the nature of languages and its concern with the accurate transmission of information. By synthesizing insights from the field of computer science, such as that of Claude Shannon, with Nicholas Wolterstorff’s use of speech-act theory, the concept of meaning can be understood more clearly. Consequently, this synthesis assists in answering questions …


Critical Notice Of Words And Contents, Robert Stainton, Arthur Sullivan Jan 2021

Critical Notice Of Words And Contents, Robert Stainton, Arthur Sullivan

Philosophy Publications

Full review of Richard Vallee's 2018 book Words and Thoughts. The article focuses on the explication and critique of John Perry's "pluri-propositional" or "reflexive referential" view, which Vallee applies to a range of context sensitive expressions.


Emociones, Ofensa Y Registro Sociolinguistico: El Caso De Los “Usos Distantes” De Los Términos Discriminatorios, Justina Diaz Legaspe, Robert Stainton Jan 2019

Emociones, Ofensa Y Registro Sociolinguistico: El Caso De Los “Usos Distantes” De Los Términos Discriminatorios, Justina Diaz Legaspe, Robert Stainton

Philosophy Publications

There is a particular kind of use of slurs in which the negative emotions typically associated with them (hatred, anger) are not present in the occurrence. Even so, these uses still resonate as incorrect or inadequate. This kind of “detached use” is not only an interesting, rarely mentioned phenomenon per se; it also offers some support to a novel approach to slurs based on the sociolinguistic notion of “register”. This paper examines some types of detached uses, extracts some of their essential features and assesses the way the register-based approach to slurs can account for them.


Two Questions About Interpretive Effects, Robert Stainton, Christopher Viger Jan 2018

Two Questions About Interpretive Effects, Robert Stainton, Christopher Viger

Philosophy Publications

We discuss central themes in Lepore and Stone's Imagination and Convention. We begin by laying out their view, and then pose both empirical and methodological criticisms.


Introduction To Discourse, Structure And Linguistic Choice By T. Price Caldwell, Robert Stainton Jan 2018

Introduction To Discourse, Structure And Linguistic Choice By T. Price Caldwell, Robert Stainton

Philosophy Publications

No abstract provided.


Semantic Holism Revisited, Chun-Ping Yen Sep 2016

Semantic Holism Revisited, Chun-Ping Yen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

I defend semantic holism, the view that the meaning of an expression is determined by its relations to every other expression in the language of individual competent users. I argue that, once properly understood, most disadvantages attributed to holism can be dissolved and suggest that the core division between the holist and the non-holist is on the question whether invariant meanings shared across all possible occasions where the corresponded expressions are uttered are necessary for the explanation of meaning sharing. I give reason why the answer is negative and demonstrate how to explain our linguistic interaction without such invariant meanings.


Dworkin's Fallacy, Or What The Philosophy Of Language Can't Teach Us About The Law, Michael S. Green Jan 2003

Dworkin's Fallacy, Or What The Philosophy Of Language Can't Teach Us About The Law, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Review Of G.L.Hallett's Language And Truth, Kenton Machina Dec 1992

Review Of G.L.Hallett's Language And Truth, Kenton Machina

Faculty Publications - Philosophy

Review of Garth L.. Hallett's Language and Truth, Yale U. Press