Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the goal of formal semanticists when testing the plausibility of associating names with individuals and verbs with properties?
What is the goal of formal semanticists when testing the plausibility of associating names with individuals and verbs with properties?
To test the general plausibility of such associations.
Why do the little details matter a lot in real language use?
Why do the little details matter a lot in real language use?
Because they determine which individual each name points to and which property each verb points to.
Are psychological theories of meaning and formal semantics incompatible? What is the ultimate goal of a full theory of meaning?
Are psychological theories of meaning and formal semantics incompatible? What is the ultimate goal of a full theory of meaning?
No, they are not incompatible. The ultimate goal of a full theory of meaning is to account for both sides of the problem - how words refer to things in the world and how the referential aspects of meaning combine.
