Semantics without reference
Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 31 (3):437-461 (1990)
| Abstract | A theory of reference may be either an analysis of reference or merely an account of the correct use of the verb "refer". If we define the validity of arguments in the standard way, in terms of assignments of individuals and sets to the nonlogical vocabulary of the language, then we will be committed to seeking an analysis of reference. Those who prefer a metalinguistic account, therefore, will desire an alternative to standard semantics. One alternative is the Quinean conception of logical validity as essentially a matter of logical form. Another alternative is Leblanc's truth-value semantics. But these prove to be either inadequate for purposes of metatheory or philosophically unsatisfactory. This paper shows how validity (i.e., semantic consequence) may be defined in a way that avoid the problems facing these other alternatives to standard semantics and also permits a metalinguistic account of reference. The validity of arguments is treated as a matter of logical form, but validity for forms is defined on analogy with the definition of semantic consequence in truth-value semantics. (A more radical kind of semantics without reference is the context logical approach represented in several of my other publications.) | |||||||||
| Keywords | logical validity reference | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,709 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesChristopher Gauker (2005). Semantics for Deflationists. In JC Beall & Bradley Armour-Garb (eds.), Deflationism and Paradox. Oxford University Press.
Friederike Moltmann (2010). Generalizing Detached Self-Reference and the Semantics of Generic 'One'. Mind and Language 25 (4):440-473.
Peter Schroeder-Heister (2006). Validity Concepts in Proof-Theoretic Semantics. Synthese 148 (3):525 - 571.
Greg Restall (2007). Curry's Revenge: The Costs of Non-Classical Solutions to the Paradoxes of Self-Reference. In J. C. Beall (ed.), Revenge of the Liar: New Essays on the Paradox. Oxford University Press.
Valentin Goranko (1996). Hierarchies of Modal and Temporal Logics with Reference Pointers. Journal of Logic, Language and Information 5 (1).
Jerrold J. Katz (2004). Sense, Reference, and Philosophy. Oxford University Press.
J. Ketland (2012). Validity as a Primitive. Analysis 72 (3):421-430.
Kepa Korta (2011). Critical Pragmatics: An Inquiry Into Reference and Communication. Cambridge University Press.
Tomis Kapitan (1982). On the Concept of Material Consequence. History and Philosophy of Logic 3 (2):193-211.
William H. Hanson (2006). Actuality, Necessity, and Logical Truth. Philosophical Studies 130 (3):437 - 459.
Greg Frost-Arnold (2008). Too Much Reference: Semantics for Multiply Signifying Terms. Journal of Philosophical Logic 37 (3).
Colin McLarty (1993). Anti-Foundation and Self-Reference. Journal of Philosophical Logic 22 (1):19 - 28.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2010-08-24Total downloads34 ( #35,408 of 551,007 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,450 of 551,007 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
