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Single Idea 3004

[filed under theme 19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 6. Meaning as Use ]

Full Idea

The meaning of a sentence derives from its use in expressing an attitude.

Gist of Idea

The meaning of a sentence derives from its use in expressing an attitude

Source

Jerry A. Fodor (Psychosemantics [1987], p. 79)

Book Ref

Fodor,Jerry A.: 'Psychosemantics' [MIT 1993], p.79


A Reaction

Among other things. It can also arrive from a desire to remember something. A sentence can also acquire meaning compositionally (by assembling) with no use or aim.


The 27 ideas from 'Psychosemantics'

Mind is a set of hierarchical 'homunculi', which are made up in turn from subcomponents [Fodor, by Lycan]
Intentionality doesn't go deep enough to appear on the physicists' ultimate list of things [Fodor]
A particle and a coin heads-or-tails pick out to perfectly well-defined predicates and properties [Fodor]
We can't use propositions to explain intentional attitudes, because they would need explaining [Fodor]
Contrary to commonsense, most of what is in the mind seems to be unlearned [Fodor]
Hume's associationism offers no explanation at all of rational thought [Fodor]
We may be able to explain rationality mechanically [Fodor]
Any piece of software can always be hard-wired [Fodor]
In CRTT thought may be represented, content must be [Fodor]
Supervenience gives good support for mental causation [Fodor]
Mental states may have the same content but different extensions [Fodor]
Grice thinks meaning is inherited from the propositional attitudes which sentences express [Fodor]
Obsession with narrow content leads to various sorts of hopeless anti-realism [Fodor]
Meaning holism is a crazy doctrine [Fodor]
Behaviourism has no theory of mental causation [Fodor]
If mind is just physical, how can it follow the rules required for intelligent thought? [Fodor]
Very different mental states can share their contents, so content doesn't seem to be constructed from functional role [Fodor]
The meaning of a sentence derives from its use in expressing an attitude [Fodor]
'Jocasta' needs to be distinguished from 'Oedipus's mother' because they are connected by different properties [Fodor]
Whatever in the mind delivers falsehood is parasitic on what delivers truth [Fodor]
Many different verification procedures can reach 'star', but it only has one semantic value [Fodor]
Evolution suggests that innate knowledge of human psychology would be beneficial [Fodor]
Sticklebacks have an innate idea that red things are rivals [Fodor]
Belief and desire are structured states, which need mentalese [Fodor]
Causal powers must be a crucial feature of mental states [Fodor]
Do identical thoughts have identical causal roles? [Fodor]
Folk psychology is the only explanation of behaviour we have [Fodor]