Word and object

By Willard Van Orman Quine

Subjects: Lo gica simbo lica y matema tica, Logique symbolique et mathématique, Language and languages, Language and languages--philosophy, Sémantique (Philosophie), Symbolic and mathematical Logic, Lenguas, Se mantique (Philosophie), Philosophy, Filosofi a, Langage et langues, Semantics (philosophy), Philosophie, Languages, Logic, symbolic and mathematical, Logic, Symbolic and mathematical, Language and languages, philosophy, Semantics (Philosophy), Logique symbolique et mathe matique

Description: Language consists of dispositions, socially instilled, to respond observably to socially observable stimuli. This book examines the linguistic mechanisms of objective reference. Topics covered include the difficulties involved in translation, the anomalies and conflicts implicit in our language's referential apparatus, the semantic problems connected with the imputation of existence, and the reasons for admitting or repudiating each of various categories of supposed objects. Conclusions reached include rejecting the notion of a language-transcendent "sentence-meaning", and meaningful studies in the semantics of reference can only be directed toward substantially the same language in which they are conducted. (From publisher's copy)