Language and Reality An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language SECOND EDITION Michael Devitt and Kim SterelnyCopyright © Michael Devitt and Kim Sterelny 1999 ‘The right of Michael Devite and Kim Sterelay tobe ideniid a the authors ofthis work has been asterted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 Firs published 1999 “Thistle is published in he Unived States by MIT Press 2468197531 ‘Blackwell Publishes Lid 108 Cowley Road Oxford OX4 IF UK All ights reserved. Except forthe quotation of shore pasages forthe purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, sored in 3 retrieval stem, or wsnsmited, in any form or by any means, electronic mechanical, photocopying, ecoxding or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher Esepin the United Sats of Americ his Book is sok abet the coon Thos nny ayo deo otese, belo, ea hed so shen eat ote pbsers par cosa any fr of Bing or oveother tan atin wich ts pase and micas sar conan slong ths conion being pened on the sbsegse uranet British Litrry Ctelouing in Pbicaion Data Acacia ord for his bok aaa fom he Betis Library. ISBN 0-631:21404-6 (hardback) ISBN 0-631-19689-7 (paperback) kite ee = Fh hy 7 FOU LGL yp “Typeset in 10 on 12 pe Sabon by Ace Flmsettng Ltd, Frome, Somerset Printed in Great Brain by MPG Books, Vicroria Square, Bodmin, Cornwall “This book is printed on aid fre paper Filozofické fakulta UKOFIUK CLAS 380501050048821 Contents Preface to the Second Edition Preface to the First Edition Part I: Introduction 1 Introduction 1.1 The Philosophy of Language 1.2 What Is the Problem? 1.3 What Is a Theory of Language? **1.4 The Menu Suggested Reading Part Il: Meaning 2 Truth and Reference 2.1 Meaning and Truth, 2.2 Explaining Truth Conditions **2.3 Non-indicatives 2.4 Explaining Structure 2.5 Are Referential Roles Enough? 2.6 Enter Senses 1 1 7 19 19 21 23 26 29 35 ** indicates chapters and sections which ae dificult and probably best ignored in an inital approachvi Contents 2.7 Terminological Warnings; Use and Mention Suggested Reading 3. Description Theories of Reference: Names 3.1 The Classical Description Theory 3.2 The Modern Description Theory 3:3 Ignorance and Error 3.4 Reference Borrowing 3.5 Rejecting Description Theories Suggested Reading 4 A Causal Theory of Reference: Names 4.1 A Causal Theory 4.2 Virtues of the Causal Theory 4.3 Developing the Theory 4.4 Direct Reference 4.5 The Qua-problem Suggested Reading 5. Theories of Reference: Other Terms 5.1 Description Theories of Natural Kind Terms 5.2 A Causal Theory of Natural Kind Terms **5,3 The Qua-problem **5.4 Other Kind Terms “*5,5 Hybrid Theories 5.6 Analyticity, Apriority, and Necessity “*5,7 Donnellan’s Distinction **5.8 Designational Terms Suggested Reading 6 Syntactic Structure 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Some Reasons for Structure 6.3 Linguistic Categories **6.4 Anaphora Suggested Reading Part Ill: Language and Mind 7 Thought and Meaning 7.1 Thoughts as Inner Representations 7.2 The Language-of-Thought Hypothesis 7.3 A Public Language of Thought or “Mentalese”? 7. Grice’s Theory of Meaning 7.5 Avoiding the Explanatory Circle 39 41 45 45 50 54 58 59 64 66 66 oo 2B 76 81 83 88 90 93 96 101 104 105 ut 4 114 117 123 128 133, 135 137 137 138 140 146 151 Contents 7.6 The Origins of Language +77 Indicator and Teleological Semantics Suggested Reading 8 Linguistic Competence 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The Conflation of Symbols and Competence 8.3 Two Proposals on the Psychological Reality of Syntactic Rules 8.4 Knowledge-how versus Knowledge-that 8.5. Built-in versus Represented Rules 8.6 Cartesian Intuitions 8.7. “The Only Theory in Town” 8.8. Are Syntactic Rules Built-in Processing-rules? 8.9. Linguistic Competence as a Translation Ability 8.10 Chomskyan Nativism Suggested Reading **9. Defending Representationalism 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Deflationism 9.3 Funetional-role Semantics and “Narrow” Meanings 9.4 The Two-factor Theory 9.5 Kripke’s Skeptical Argument Suggested Reading 10 Linguistic Relativity 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The Tyranny of Vocabulary 10.3 The Tyranny of Syntax 10.4 The Scientific Whorfians 10.5 The Rejection of Scientific Whorfianism Suggested Reading Part IV: Language and Realism 11 Verificationism 11.1 Realism 11.2 Logical Positivism and the Elimination of the Realism Dispute 11.3 Dummett and the Misidentification of the Realism Dispute 11.4 Verificationism Suggested Reading 154 156 162 166 16 168 170 173 175 179 184 185 187 190 197 200 200 202 205 209 211 214 217 217 218 221 224 226 228 231 233 233 235 237 2a 244