Methodology, not metaphysics: Against semantic externalism

Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 83 (1):53-69 (2009)
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Abstract

Borg (2009) surveys and rejects a number of arguments in favour of semantic internalism. This paper, in turn, surveys and rejects all of Borg's anti-internalist arguments. My chief moral is that, properly conceived, semantic internalism is a methodological doctrine that takes its lead from current practice in linguistics. The unifying theme of internalist arguments, therefore, is that linguistics neither targets nor presupposes externalia. To the extent that this claim is correct, we should be internalists about linguistic phenomena, including semantics.

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References found in this work

The Philosophy of Philosophy.Timothy Williamson - 2007 - Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin, and Use.Noam Chomsky - 1986 - Prager. Edited by Darragh Byrne & Max Kölbel.
New horizons in the study of language and mind.Noam Chomsky - 2000 - New York: Cambridge University Press.
Meaning.Paul Horwich - 1998 - New York: Oxford University Press.

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