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24465 | Sentence meaning determines its truth-value in various situations |
Full Idea: A meaning for a sentence is something that determines the conditions under which the sentence is true or false. It determines the truth-value of the sentence in various possible states of affairs. | |||
From: David Lewis (General Semantics [1970], III) | |||
A reaction: A somewhat clearer assertion of the view originating with Frege, and championed by Davidson. Meaning is a 'something', and so opposed to the nihilistic Kripkenstein view. I agree with Lewis on that. Meanings are mental states. |