Language and scientific explanation: Where does semantics fit in?
Eran Asoulin
Jan 2020 · Conceptual Foundations of Language Science Book 5 · Language Science Press
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About this ebook
This book discusses the two main construals of the explanatory goals of semantic theories. The first, externalist conception, understands semantic theories in terms of a hermeneutic and interpretive explanatory project. The second, internalist conception, understands semantic theories in terms of the psychological mechanisms in virtue of which meanings are generated. It is argued that a fruitful scientific explanation is one that aims to uncover the underlying mechanisms in virtue of which the observable phenomena are made possible, and that a scientific semantics should be doing just that. If this is the case, then a scientific semantics is unlikely to be externalist, for reasons having to do with the subject matter and form of externalist theories. It is argued that semantics construed hermeneutically is nevertheless a valuable explanatory project.
About the author
Eran Asoulin works in linguistics, philosophy, and cognitive science, with a focus on the interaction between language and thought. He is currently Visiting Fellow at the School of Humanities and Languages, University of New South Wales, Australia.
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