Single Idea 19533

[catalogued under 19. Language / C. Assigning Meanings / 2. Semantics]

Full Idea

On internalist inferential (or conceptual role) semantics, the inferential relations of an expression do not depend on what, if anything, it refers to, ...rather, the meaning is something like its place in a web of inferential relations.

Gist of Idea

Inferentialist semantics relies on internal inference relations, not on external references

Source

Timothy Williamson (Knowledge First (and reply) [2014], p.6)

Book Reference

'Contemporary Debates in Epistemology (2nd ed)', ed/tr. Steup/Turri/Sosa [Wiley Blackwell 2014], p.6


A Reaction

Williamson says the competition is between externalist truth-conditional referential semantics (which he favours), and this internalist inferential semantics. He is, like, an expert, of course, but I doubt whether that is the only internalist option.

Related Ideas

Idea 19534 How does inferentialism distinguish the patterns of inference that are essential to meaning? [Williamson]

Idea 19535 Internalist inferentialism has trouble explaining how meaning and reference relate [Williamson]