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Knowing the meaning of a word: shared psychological states and the determination of extensions

Pritchard, TD; (2017) Knowing the meaning of a word: shared psychological states and the determination of extensions. Mind & Language , 32 (1) pp. 101-121. 10.1111/mila.12134. Green open access

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Abstract

What is it to know the meaning of a word? The traditional view is that it involves the possession of a concept that determines the extension of a word, with the concept corresponding to a single psychological state. Millikan criticizes this view, denying not only that concepts determine extensions but also that sharing a concept means sharing a psychological state. The purpose of this paper is to defend a modified version of the traditional view. I argue that Millikan's claims do not translate directly into a thesis about word meaning. Her arguments relate to an extra-linguistic approach to extension, which we can distinguish from a linguistically oriented notion of extension.

Type: Article
Title: Knowing the meaning of a word: shared psychological states and the determination of extensions
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/mila.12134
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/mila.12134
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Linguistics
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1531701
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