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Full Idea
Semantics is the totality of considerations concerning concepts which express connections between expressions of a language and objects and states of affairs referred to by these expressions. Examples are denotation, satisfaction, definition and truth.
Gist of Idea
Semantics is the concepts of connections of language to reality, such as denotation, definition and truth
Source
Alfred Tarski (The Establishment of Scientific Semantics [1936], p.401)
Book Ref
Tarski,Alfred: 'Logic, Semantics, Meta-mathematics' [Hackett 1956], p.401
A Reaction
Interestingly, he notes that it 'is not commonly recognised' that truth is part of semantics. Nowadays truth seems to be the central concept in most semantics.
13335 | Semantics is the concepts of connections of language to reality, such as denotation, definition and truth [Tarski] |
13336 | A language containing its own semantics is inconsistent - but we can use a second language [Tarski] |
13337 | A language: primitive terms, then definition rules, then sentences, then axioms, and finally inference rules [Tarski] |
13338 | '"It is snowing" is true if and only if it is snowing' is a partial definition of the concept of truth [Tarski] |
13339 | A sentence is satisfied when we can assert the sentence when the variables are assigned [Tarski] |
13340 | Satisfaction is the easiest semantical concept to define, and the others will reduce to it [Tarski] |
13341 | Using the definition of truth, we can prove theories consistent within sound logics [Tarski] |